“D” is for?

July 24, 2011August 2, 2011 ~ jama ~ 4 Comments

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

Just read this great review at Book Aunt about The Rock & Roll Alphabet by Jeffrey Schwartz, with photos by Chuck Boyd (Mojo Hand, 2011). Definitely a cool way to learn your ABCs, with rhyming couplets to read aloud and wonderful vintage photos.

BUT. As much as I love the DOORS, I just have to ask: WHAT ABOUT DYLAN?

For consolation, I’m going to make some meatballs (a Dylan fave), and Cornelius says he might just tip back a few drops of Jack Daniels, even though he usually doesn’t drink. Sigh.

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if rocks could sing: a discovered alphabet by leslie mcguirk!

May 16, 2011October 6, 2017 ~ jama ~ 4 Comments

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

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” ~ Jonathan Swift

Oh. My. God.

This has got to be the most astonishing alphabet collection ever — the coolest of the cool, the most unique and inspiring gift from nature anyone has ever received!

Some time ago, author/illustrator Leslie McGuirk began taking a closer look at the sedimentary rocks on a stretch of Florida beach near her home. These fascinating natural sculptures, smoothed and shaped by thousands of years of wave action, consisted of grains of sand and fossilized shell fragments “glued together” by a chemical in the seawater. Yes, they were all amazing and beautiful, each in its own way, but it was Leslie who noticed that some resembled letters of the alphabet.

She soon became obsessed (my kind of woman), and began collecting these special letter rocks, as well as rocks resembling objects beginning with each letter. She did this for over ten years. Patient, persistent, eyes open, heart waiting. One by one, they revealed themselves to her. And now, she’s sharing her collection with the world in her brand new book, If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet (Tricycle Press, 2011), which will be officially released on Tuesday, May 24th!

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

January 27, 2010December 18, 2017 ~ 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.

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

November 19, 2009November 23, 2017 ~ 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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