An Edward Lear alphabet

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Lear published these nonsense rhymes in 1871, yet the intervening century has not tarnished their brightness. In this exhilarating update, Lears whimsical presence makes itself felt in singsong verse and in antic images of a white-bearded gentleman who flies a letter-K Kite and runs from a letter-M Mouse. Lears choice of key words is delightfully eccentric, gaining steam through the course of the 26 letters with a predictable formula: E was once a little eel,/ Eely/ Weely/ Peely/ Eely/ Twirly tweely/ Little eel precedes F was once a little fish,/ Fishy/ Wishy/ Squishy/ Fishy/ In a dishy/ Little fish. Readers will find themselves wagging their heads and swaying to the words, which demand to be announced in a seesaw rhythm. The Victorian poets flair for ageless verse is pumped up by the pared-down, color-saturated illustrations. Radunsky (Yucka Drucka Droni) places collage-style images against flat, featureless backdrops of deep pink, hot yellow and Astroturf green. Each letter of the alphabet is posted on the page in a geometric shape, as if snipped from a book of clip art. The illustrator, like the poet who inspires him, takes the unserious quite seriously, and the result is an unpredictable alphabet that sustains its zany energy over repeated readings. Ages 3-6. (Apr.)

Children's Literature - Tracy Defina

This is a unique and wonderfully whimsical alphabet book. Each letter is represented by something that begins with that letter and poem. I was once a bottle of ink, "Inky/ Dinky/ Thinky/ Inky/ Blacky minky/ Bottle of Ink." Children and adults will love the wild and crazy rhymes. The bright and colorful illustrations add to the fun reading this book. Creativity is sure to be spurred on and children will be encouraged to do some playing with words on their own.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2A picture-book version of An Edward Lear Alphabet, originally published in 1871. The cover and title page are confusing: made up and colored by Vladimir Radunsky is written in primitive scratch art. To children, made up means thought of or originated by, and they may assume that the book was written by Radunsky instead of Lear. Also, one might wonder, does colored mean drawn as well? The collage artwork has a much more sophisticatedand zanyeffect than mere coloring. To be sure, the background colors for each letters page are bright; some are even neon. Radunsky takes liberties with Lears punctuation, leaving off commas and the final exclamation point at the end of each rhyme. In addition, he transfers Lears (water) pump for the letter P to a pump (as in shoes) by changing the picture. The wording is true to the original and will delight young readers as they say or listen to the rhyming sounds rolling along in a pattern: F was once a little fish,/Fishy/Wishy/Squishy/Fishy/In a dishy/Little fish. The rhymes will definitely elicit smiles from young readers. A delight for any alphabet book collection in spite of the potential confusion about the credits.Betty Teague, Blythe Academy of Languages, Greenville, SC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Sean Kelly

Lear's original pen-and-ink illustrations for his alphabet were straightforward....The jokes are in the verses. Randunsky's illustrations are likewise plain, but all invivid color, and sometimes tending toward the big-eyed adorable. The verses are still funny.
— The New York Times Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

An Edward Lear Alphabet (32 pp.; , PLB Apr. 30; 0-06-028113-8, PLB 0-06-028114-6): By injecting Lear's alphabet with vivid shots of color and joyful graphics, Radunsky blasts this Victorian verse into the 21st century. For some readers, Lear's rhymes on their own border on precious: "J was once a jar of jam/Jammy/Mammy/Clammy/Jammy/Sweet Swammy/Jar of Jam." However, juxtaposed with an acid-blue background, topped with a bright yellow lid, and designated with a green and orange letter J, this jam jar jumps. The colors and graphics add a very effective jolt to this silly, quite old, ABC. (Picture book. 3-6)