The Alphabet Tree

After a storm blows some of them away, the letters on the alphabet tree learn from a strange bug to be stronger by forming words, then a caterpillar comes along and tells them that words are not enough; they must say something important.

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Publishers Weekly

Old favorites find their way back into print. Leo Leonni's The Alphabet Tree was first published in 1968, during America's involvement in Vietnam. In this simple allegory, a fierce wind keeps a tree filled with timid letters at bay. A word-bug and a caterpillar instruct them to form words that say something important (the message they form: "Peace on earth and goodwill toward all men") and then the letters head for the White House. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Leo Lionni, an internationally known designer, illustrator, and graphic artist, was born in Holland and lived in Italy until he came to the United States in 1939. He was the recipient of the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was honored posthumously in 2007 with the Society of Illustrators’ Lifetime Achievement Award. His picture books are distinguished by their enduring moral themes, graphic simplicity and brilliant use of collage, and include four Caldecott Honor Books: Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Hailed as “a master of the simple fable” by the Chicago Tribune, he died in 1999 at the age of 89.