friday feast: letter perfect

May 6, 2011December 24, 2017 ~ jama ~ 2 Comments

#30 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

“Think about it. Every word that has ever been invented belongs to you just as much as it belongs to the most famous author, poet, fairy tale teller, or song composer.” ~ Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Thefancyladygourmet/flickr

Some of you may know that I am stark raving mad about have a teensy obsession with the alphabet.

The mere sight of those 26 letters — singly, in groups, edible or inedible, gets my pulse racing, my heart thumping. I’ve always believed each letter has its very own personality (X is risqué and mysterious, B has an inferiority complex). You gotta admire something that comes with its own sound effects, is open to mingling freely with all its counterparts, and is so versatile it can lend itself to countless words.

In our old house, I stenciled the alphabet in one of our hallways, and every time I saw those letters, I marveled that different combinations of those 26 symbols gave us all the works of Shakespeare, E.E. Cummings and Dickens, the Bible, Pooh and Paddington. Like Rebecca says in the opening quote, we all have equal access to those letters and every word ever invented. Tremendously exciting and humbling at the same time.

Heinz Alphabetti and Numberetti by Leo Reynolds/flickr

Last month, Rebecca and I got to talking about alphabet pasta and soup and favorite words (she and I both love “pudding”). You probably know she’s a champion word collector, part of the reason she’s such a brilliant poet. Imagine my surprise and delight when she sent a poem written just for me! Somehow, I’ve managed to stop cartwheeling around the kitchen just long enough to share it with you today. Thank you sooo much, R!

ALPHABET COLLECTOR
by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

The A’s are always plentiful.
What would a word collector do
without them, tell me . . .
and the o’s, let there be a ton
(see? Needed one) and the c;
please stack up the t’s, too;
throw in an x here and there
for interest, for spunk.
Dunk these letters in soup
and let them float, call it art,
that’s what it is; a letter biz.
What better way to spend an hour
or a day; a lifetime, really.
Alpha, alpha, alpha, betcha
can’t do it like she does.

Back to cartwheeling . . .

What’s better than admiring the alphabet? Eating it, of course!

Uber cool edible alphabet set by Don Moyer/flickr.

So, what’s your favorite letter and why? (These days, I’m favoring Y — so strong, it can ask a question even if W and H don’t want to cooperate. “A” gets far too much attention being first, and sometimes is decidedly haughty at being the only letter who’s also a complete word all by itself.)

♥ This post is brought to you by the letters R, K, and D, a beautiful poet with a child’s heart and quite possibly, cute toes.

♥ Today’s Roundup is being hosted by Terry at Family Bookshelf. Enjoy all the cool poems being shared around the blogosphere this week and don’t forget to:

“When I was having that alphabet soup, I never thought that it would pay off.” ~ Vanna White.

Certified authentic alphabetica. Handmade for you with love for perfect poets. ♥

hmmmmmm . . . very brief thoughts on the letter m

March 23, 2011December 24, 2017 ~ jama

#29 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

VERY BRIEF THOUGHTS ON THE LETTER M
by Miroslav Holub

A, b, c, d, e,
f, g, h, i, j,
k, l, n, o, p,
q, r, s, t, u,
v, w, x, y, z.

~ from Notes of a Clay Pigeon (Secker & Warburg, 1977)

DoubleM2/flickr

13 BRIEF NOTES Re. VERY BRIEF THOUGHTS ON THE LETTER M

1. ma-ma.

2. menu.

3. M = Sir Miles Messervey.

4. McCartney.

5. oustaches.

6. acarons?

7. Muse.

8. oolah.

9. MIA?

10. Dormouse.

11. etaphor.

12. moo.

13. mm mmm mmm m m.

♥ This post is brought to you by the letters J and A, who are looking for a few M’s.

Certified authentic alphabetica. ade by hand just for you with love and issing _’s.

please peas me

March 8, 2011November 29, 2017 ~ jama ~ 1 Comment

#28 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

In my ongoing search for quirky alphabet books, I was tickled green when I discovered Keith Baker’s LMNO Peas (Beach Lane Books, 2010).

This is not your usual serving of teensy round rascals who look exactly alike and take great pleasure in rolling around plates and hanging in groups. No — Mr. Baker (don’t you love his name), infinitely clever and highly imaginative soul that he is, has cooked up a fun and tasty alphabet which proves that peas are not the same-same vegetables everyone thinks they are — they’re actually fascinating little peaple!

Such a busy lot, too. These alphabet peas “work and play in the ABCs.” Each giant, gloriously textured capital letter is home, workplace, and/or playground for peas with corresponding occupations. And they love introducing themselves in rhyme (click on each spread to enlarge):

“We’re acrobats, artists, and astronauts in space.
We’re builders, bathers, and bikers in a race.

We’re climbers, campers, and he’s a circus clown.
We’re dancers — can you dig it? — and drivers round town.”

Oh! Mega cuteness, 100% charming and delightful. Little pea guys waving checkered flags, jumping through hoops, driving colorful cars, juggling dishes, paddling kayaks, flying planes. The letters themselves are not mere backdrops, but figure prominently as cool architectural platforms, as peas roll, climb, perch, glide, slide, balance, and gleefully cavort in, around, atop, beside, and underneath them. Movin’ and groovin’, rollin’ right along.

Little ones will have a ball closely examining what all their favorite peaple are up to. Along with an interesting alphabet of occupations, there are plenty of opportunities for counting, identifying colors, discovering endless objects and discussing varied scenarios. Lots of action and winsome details will keep the munchkins giggling all the way through. Baker has also cleverly hidden a ladybug on each spread, an extra search and find exercise which proceeds from endpaper to endpaper. And when they are done introducing themselves, the personality-plus peas ask the reader, “Who are you?”

My favorite peaple? The eaters please me immensely. Five hungry fellows gather round a table for a spaghetti dinner. The volunteers work at a soup kitchen (check out the tall stack of bread)! And I love that artists, poets, teachers and readers are all represented. Also, gigglers. Where does one train to become a giggler? Oh, it’s your natural talent? Happea to hear that!

LMNO Peas has received glowing reviews, including a *starred review* from School Library Journal. And it was just named a 2011 NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts. Highly recommend this paean to uniqueness and individuality. Yippea!

I’m beyond pleased to add LMNO Peas to my alphabetica collection.

Pass the peas, please!

Thanks, Mr. Baker!

♥ Blog Reviews: Brimful Curiosities (includes related craft), 5 Minutes for Books, Richie’s Picks.

Certified authentic alphabetica. Handmade especially for you with love and a fervent wish for world peas.

of yokelish yabbies and deluded dodos

November 2, 2010December 26, 2017 ~ jama

#26 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

Oh yes, I say! Love these leetle foxes.

Thanks to Tanita S. Davis, who tipped me off about yet another cool alphabet set. These samples are from Jess Bradley’s “Rather Odd Alphabet.” It’s full of quirky creatures and many unusual words, some of which will twist your tongue twenty ways from Saturday trying to pronounce them. What fun!

Jess is an illustrator living in Bristol, England. Check out her website and blog to find out more about her work. She also has a cool online shop where you can purchase prints (she ships internationally).

♥ Click here to see all of Jess’s “Rather Odd Alphabet.”

♥♥ If you come across any cool, unusual, or otherwise noteworthy alphabet-related stuff (books, art, graphics, whatever), please let me know so I can feature it here and add it to my collection. Thanks!

*This post is brought to you by Friends. Thanks again, T. ☺

Certified authentic alphabetica. Handmade especially for you with love and whiffling weevils, among other things.

this is just too cool . . . Dalton Ghetti alphabet carvings

September 8, 2010December 29, 2017 ~ jama

#25 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

source: inhabitat

the alphabet carved from pencil leads!

This just might be the most amazing alphabet set I’ve ever seen! I have to thank Tanita Davis for the heads up on Dalton Ghetti, a 49-year-old carpenter from Bridgeport, Connecticut, who obviously has the patience and acute artistic acumen of a saint.

Apparently he does these amazing carvings as a hobby; sets like the one above can take him years to complete, and the only tools he uses are a sewing needle, sculpting knife and razor blade. No magnifying glass!

source: inhabitat

Currently he is working on a project related to the September 11 attacks. Ever since 2002, he’s been carving a teardrop every day, and plans to do 3,000 of them, in honor of every person who died. Ultimately, they will collectively form one large teardrop. He estimates it will take him 10 years to complete.

To see and learn more about his incredible work, click here and here.

Certified authentic alphabetica. Handmade especially for you with love and a new appreciation for #2 pencils.