alphabetica

a little chat with master soup artist gianna marino

~ jama ~ 1 Comment

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


 Animal prints available in three sizes may be purchased here.

To celebrate the launch of alphabet soup back in August 2007, I gave away a picture book called Zoopa: An Animal Alphabet by Gianna Marino (Chronicle Books, 2005).

After all, when considering soup books and alphabet books, Zoopa was one of my all-time favorites — it contained so many of the ingredients I wanted to serve up via this blog: fun, whimsy, gorgeous art, fresh perspectives, renewed appreciation for the alphabet, and of course, delicious food for thought.

In the world of children’s literature, there are alphabet books and there are ALPHABET BOOKS. Along with Carmine: A Little More Red by Melissa Sweet, Zoopa remains at the top of my list. This wordless visual feast, which begins with one tiny Ant eyeing up a bowl of tomato-y soup, and progresses with an entire alphabetical menagerie crawling, romping, leaping, trotting, splashing, and bounding all over the pages, inevitably begs repeated servings. Who can resist a mischievous chipmunk, a border of elephants cavorting on the rim of the soup bowl, a grasshopper wearing pink sneakers, or a monkey with green eyeglasses? Best of all, I love all the pasta letters floating around however they please in the bowl.

I was thrilled when Gianna contacted me a couple of months ago, asking if I had heard of Zoopa. Heard of it?! How do you tell an artist she’s created a book with your name written all over it, the contents perfectly evoking a vision you’ve tried for years to express in words?

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cause it’s boring being so good all the time: M is for Mischief by Linda Ashman and Nancy Carpenter

~ jama ~ 2 Comments

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

Well now, let’s be naughty, shall we?

And while we’re at it, let’s throw in picky, offensive, rude, talky, quarrelsome, nosy, annoying, smelly, selfish, terrible times two, and shockingly untidy. And that’s just for starters.

Linda Ashman’s M is for Mischief: An A to Z of Naughty Children, features 26 alphabrats, each described in deliriously rollicking, alliterative rhyme. Compared to these kids, Pigpen’s immaculate, Eloise, angelic, Genghis Khan, mild mannered and polite (“May I take over your country, please?”). One would be hard-pressed to find a noisier, more irritating bunch of rugrats anywhere in the civilized world. Tsk, tsk.

I dare say, if any of these urchins showed up on my doorstep, I’d immediately pack my bags and flee! Definitely wouldn’t want Daphne, the magic marker maniac, doodling all over the walls, furniture, just about everything in sight, including her father’s face. As you can see from the cover image, she’s doodled all over this book, too.

I positively tremble at the thought of meeting Catastrophic Coco, Fiendish Frankie, Mischievous Martin, Nagging Nora, and Rude Ruby. I imagine I’d be able to smell Offensive Oscar, who shuns the bath, from miles away. I’d rather not befriend a boy coated in dirt, with ooze on his oxfords, oil on his shirt, and yesterday’s oatmeal still clinging to his chin, thankyouverymuch.

Disobedient and maladjusted though they may be, these are brats we love to hate. Oh, the vicarious thrill! It’s just so much fun observing them from a safe distance, so satisfying when some of them get their just desserts. Ashman has done a brilliant job with her poetic portraits. I love the indefatigable wordplay and how each poem riffs on the featured letter. “Picky Penelope” begs to be read aloud; it’s a prim, pungent, pimply, perky, puny, painful passel of perfection. Plus, there’s pie:

Lest I appear negligent in my responsibility to this blog, I must declare Gluttonous Griffin the most delicious miscreant of them all. How I admire a boy with a good appetite! Dare I say, it’s easy to see why he would want to gobble the gherkins, guzzle the gravy, and glug a few gallons of guava juice. Burp!

 

Props aplenty to Nancy Carpenter for her ink and mixed media collages, which propel riotous misbehavior to the moon and back. She gives new meaning to the words, “holy terror,” through posturing and hilarious facial expressions, deftly depicting the unbridled tornado of energy and intensity that is childhood. Young readers who relish in devilry, mayhem, and the delectable act of provoking polite society will ask for repeated servings of this comical cache of cautionary counsel. Highly recommended!

M IS FOR MISCHIEF: An A to Z of Naughty Children by Linda Ashman
illustrated by Nancy Carpenter,
(Dutton, 2008), PB for ages 4-8, 32 pp.
Source of book: library copy

♥ Check out Linda Ashman’s official website!

♥ Blog Reviews:

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Bees Knees Reads
Poetry for Children

**Spreads posted by permission, text copyright © 2008 Linda Ashman, illustrations © 2008 Nancy Carpenter, published by Dutton Children’s Books. All rights reserved.

 Certified authentic alphabetica. Handmade just for you with love and a heapin’ helping of bad.

Copyright © 2010 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan’s alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

a to zzzzzz’s: the sleepy little alphabet by judy sierra and melissa sweet

~ jama ~ 6 Comments

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

 

Sshhhhhh!

I hope you don’t mind my whispering, but I finally got all the lower case letters to go to sleep. As soon as I opened this doozy (or should I say dozy) of a picture book, those little rascals skitter-scattered every which way and their UPPER CASE parents kind of looked at me like this — :o(.
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friday feast: no quibbles with q

~ jama ~ 34 Comments

#18 in on ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.


photo by tenebrismo.

I am quite quazy about Q.

Quick and quiet, quacking or quaking, Q’s a letter of quintessential quality.

Unlike O, who sometimes doesn’t know which end is up, Q sits next to me on the couch and stays put. I like a letter who’s quaint, a little quirky, sometimes questioning, always forever faithful to U.


photos by jazzejunqueinc and crissygarcia333.

You know how Ramona Quimby signs her name, drawing Q like a little cat? Ever since I saw that purr-fect Q, I’ve been a goner for Q’s tail; it’s got to be the coolest fashion accessory in the alphabet!

Okay. Right now, say “q.” See how it makes you purse your lips just so, like you’re ready for a kiss? ☺ I love that!

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my kingdom for a chair

~ jama ~ 14 Comments

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

    
The Alphabet Chair by Sarah Peters.

Ta da!

This has got to be the most unusual piece of alphabetica in my collection so far. Isn’t this cast bronze piece amazing? Best part is, it was originally commissioned back in 2003 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Eight Cousins Children’s Bookstore in Falmouth, MA. Leave it to kid’s book lovers to come up with the coolest ideas!

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