Alphabatics

by Suse MacDonald

Book Overview

A is for ark. But did you know that if you turn an A upside down and round the point out a little, it becomes an ark?
B is for balloon. But did you know that if you blow it up really big, the hole in the middle floats away like a balloon?
In this wonderfully creative alphabet book, letters are pulled, twisted, reversed, and curled until they become part of what they represent. F becomes a fish, and Y becomes a yak!
Young readers will be...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0027615200
• ISBN13: 9780027615203
• Release Date: December 1986
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.0" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Letters as acrobats?

In Suse MacDonald's 1987 Caldecott Honor Book Alphabatics, letters transform acrobatically from letters into objects that illustrate the letter and its sound. By way of an introduction, an "A" in a boxed frame grows arms and legs and vaults out of its box across the first pages of the book until it becomes an acrobat perched on the title on the title page. In later pages, an "i" splits in half, spreads its wings, and transforms into an insect; an "r" sprouts feathers and grows a beak, becoming a rooster; a "Y" bulges and transforms into the head and horns of a yak. Each letter of the alphabet receives a two-page spread. The upper- and lower-case letters are printed in a bold sans serif font in the upper left corner of the left-hand page. Just beneath, either the upper- or lower-case first appears unaltered in a box and its transformation is shown step-by-step across to the pages. The final object is shown on the right-hand page along with the word. The illustrations are comprised of bright blocks of color, presented on a crisp white background. The treatment of the alphabet is letter-focused and demonstrates to children just beginning to recognize letters that letters are special shapes that transform into words and meaning.

Fun & imaginative concept book for young children

This Caldecott Honor Book (1987) is very cleverly done. Children learn the letters of the alphabet and enjoy "watching" the letters morph into many different objects, animals, and birds. This book keeps the preschooler next door entertained every time she picks it up.