Overview
Starting with the simplest images-apples for A, bowls for B, cat for C-Sara Pinto has taken a magical leap in the concept of alphabet books. Each letter has a door, and behind each door the objects arrange and rearrange themselves so that with every letter the picture becomes more complex. Letter by letter, magical scenes unfold inside the room. With gentle humor and charming design, this lift-the-flap alphabet book transcends the genre to offer something truly unique.
Starting with the simplest images, this lift-the-flap alphabet book allows little ones to watch the letters of the alphabet come alive within the 26 flaps and sturdy board pages.
Synopsis
Starting with the simplest images-apples for A, bowls for B, cat for C-Sara Pinto has taken a magical leap in the concept of alphabet books. Each letter has a door, and behind each door the objects arrange and rearrange themselves so that with every letter the picture becomes more complex. Letter by letter, magical scenes unfold inside the room. With gentle humor and charming design, this lift-the-flap alphabet book transcends the genre to offer something truly unique.
Publishers Weekly
This creative and compact lift-the-flap book, designed as a square with rounded corners, results in a subtle game of I Spy. Its unassuming initial spreads introduce "A/ apples," "B/ bowl," "C/ cat" and "D/ dog." Each left-hand page presents the oversize letter and the word, while each right-hand page offers a picture of the named item on a bold square background with hinges and a doorknob. Open this paper door, and an interior spread depicts a rectangular room with pale yellow walls. Herein, all the named objects accumulate and interact. The calm cat and dog play politely with the "F/ fish," "G/ guitar" and "H/ hat," and "I/ ivy" precedes "L/ lamb" into the room. Consecutive stages show the little lamb eating the ivy (according to a popular 1940s song), and the ivy growing back; and an errant "moustache" prompts some amusing scenarios (first the cat wears it, then the dog, etc.). "P/ painting" seems to be a static portrait of a man and horsecart on a country road, but the sequence reveals that the portrait's components move around, creating a multilayered frame within a frame. Pinto, making her children's book debut, draws and paints in a delicate hand. Her controlled watercolors stay within her fine ink line, and the objects and animals never act the least unruly. Pinto's book is in good company this fall, with the many alphabetic offerings, including Shirley and Milton Glaser's The Alphazeds, an ABC that likewise packs an empty room (albeit with letters, not objects). Pinto's may be quieter, but her many combinations of the 26 elements will keep onlookers of all ages entertained. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
This creative and compact lift-the-flap book, designed as a square with rounded corners, results in a subtle game of I Spy. Its unassuming initial spreads introduce "A/ apples," "B/ bowl," "C/ cat" and "D/ dog." Each left-hand page presents the oversize letter and the word, while each right-hand page offers a picture of the named item on a bold square background with hinges and a doorknob. Open this paper door, and an interior spread depicts a rectangular room with pale yellow walls. Herein, all the named objects accumulate and interact. The calm cat and dog play politely with the "F/ fish," "G/ guitar" and "H/ hat," and "I/ ivy" precedes "L/ lamb" into the room. Consecutive stages show the little lamb eating the ivy (according to a popular 1940s song), and the ivy growing back; and an errant "moustache" prompts some amusing scenarios (first the cat wears it, then the dog, etc.). "P/ painting" seems to be a static portrait of a man and horsecart on a country road, but the sequence reveals that the portrait's components move around, creating a multilayered frame within a frame. Pinto, making her children's book debut, draws and paints in a delicate hand. Her controlled watercolors stay within her fine ink line, and the objects and animals never act the least unruly. Pinto's book is in good company this fall, with the many alphabetic offerings, including Shirley and Milton Glaser's The Alphazeds, an ABC that likewise packs an empty room (albeit with letters, not objects). Pinto's may be quieter, but her many combinations of the 26 elements will keep onlookers of all ages entertained. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
This chunky, cloth-bound book is another variation on the classic alphabet book format. Each double page spread features a letter of the alphabet. On one side is a large hand-drawn capital letter with the name of an appropriate object underneath. On the facing page, the illustrator has drawn a picture of that object. It is not a surprise that "A" has the word "apples." The big surprise for the reader is the door that they lift up shows a room filled with all the objects mentioned. So by the time you get to "Z" the room is crammed packed with a zebra, yarn, a xylophone, and twenty-three other things. 2003, Bloomsbury Press, Ages 2 to 5.— Sally J. K. Davies