ABC from A to Z: Bibliography

Bibliography

Agee, Jon. Z Goes Home. New York, NY: Hyperion, 2003.

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Alphabet. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1975.

Aylesworth, Jim. The Folks in the Valley: A Pennsylvania Dutch ABC. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1992.

Blake, Quentin. Quentin Blake's ABC. London: Random House, 1989.

Briggs, Kelly Paul. Island Alphabet. Camden, ME: Downeast Books, 1995.

Bowen, Betsy. Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.

Catalanotto, Peter. Matthew A. B. C. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002.

Crosbie, Michael J. Arches to Zigzags: And Architecture ABC. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 2000.

Demarest, Chris L. The Cowboy ABC. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 1999.

Dodd, Emma. Dog's ABC: A Silly Story About the Alphabet. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2002.

Drucker, Malka. A Jewish Holiday ABC. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1992.

Duke, Kate. The Guinea Pig Abc. New York: Dutton, 1983.

Frampton, David. My Beastie Book of ABC: Rhymes and Woodcuts. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2002.

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Absolutely Awful Alphabet. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1999.

Helman, Andrea. O is for Orca: a Pacific Northwest Alphabet Book. Seattle: Sasquatch, 1995.

Hoban, Tana. 26 Letters and 99 Cents. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1987.

Hoban, Tana. A, B, See! New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1982.

Hobbie, Holly. Toot & Puddle: Puddle's ABC. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 2000.

Howell, Will C. Zoo Flakes ABC. New York, NY: Walker & Company, 2002.

Jay, Alison. ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2003.

Kalman, Maira. What Pete Ate From A-Z. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2001.

Korab, Balthazar. Archabet: An Architectural Alphabet. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 1992.

Lester, Mike. A Is For Salad. New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 2000.

Leuck, Laura. Jeepers Creepers: A Monstrous ABC. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2003.

Lobel, Anita. Alison's Zinnia. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1990.

MacDonald, Ross. Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press, 2003.

Mayers, Florence Cassen. A Russian ABC: ABV: Featuring Masterpieces from the Hermitage, St. Petersburg. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, in association with SMART, St. Petersburg, 1992.

McMillan, Bruce. The Alphabet Symphony. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1977.

Merriam, Eve. Spooky ABC. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002.

Metropolitan Museum of Art. Museum ABC. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 2002.

Milich, Zoran. The City ABC Book. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2001.

Milne, A.A. (Alan Alexander). Winnie-the-Pooh's Abc. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2001.

Moxley, Sheila. An Alphabet Books of Cats and Dogs. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001.

Palotta, Jerry and Astrella, Mark. The Desert Alphabet Book. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 1994.

Pelletier, David. The Graphic Alphabet. New York: Orchard, 1996.

Rankin, Laura. The Handmade Alphabet. New York: Dial Books, 1991.

Schnur, Steven. Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Calarion, 2001.

Schwartz, David M. Q is for Quark: A Science Alphabet Book. Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 2001.

Seuss, Dr. Dr. Seuss's ABC. New York, NY.: Beginner Books, 1991.

Shannon, George. Tomorrow's Alphabet. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1996.

Sobel, June. B Is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 2003.

Steig, Jeanne, and Steig, William. Alpha Beta Chowder. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1992.

Tapahonso, Luci, and Eleanor Schick. Navajo ABC: A Dine Alphabet Book. New York, NY: Macmillan Books for Young Readers, 1995.

Viorst, Judith. The Alphabet from Z to A (With Much Confusion on the Way). New York: Antheneum, 1994.

Wilbur, Richard. The Disappearing Alphabet. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1997.

Wilks, Mike. The Ultimate Alphabet. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co., 1986.

Wormell, Chistopher. An Alphabet of Animals. New York: Dial Books, 1990.

Yoshi, Ruth. A to Zen: A Book of Japanese Culture. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Writing

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Absolutely Awful Alphabet. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1999. "Awful" letters are more silly than scary thanks to the cartoonish quality of the fangs, claws, and contorted monsterish bodies shaped into letter forms. The text compliments the fun with a long run-on sentence from "A is an awfully arrogant Amphibian annoyed at..." to "Z is a zigzagging zoological ZANY!"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0152163433/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Kalman, Maira. What Pete Ate From A-Z. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2001. Alliteration rules the day in this hilarious examination of the title subject: a mischievous little shaggy dog named Pete, who apparently has a voracious appetite for everything except dog food. (The book is cleverly subtitled "Where We Explore the English Alphabet [In Its Entirety] in Which a Certain Dog Devours a Myriad of Items Which He Should Not ") From cameras and underpants to keys and sneakers, Pete's gastronomic exploits are whimsically described and illustrated in a lovably cartoonish style.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0399233628/qid=1100234298/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Lester, Mike. A Is For Salad. New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 2000. Younger readers and those without a wicked sense of humor might be slightly bewildered by this clever(and extremely funny) book, in which Mr. Lester turns alphabet book convention upside down. Each letter is humorously illustrated with an animal who matches the letter, while the descriptions are completely and utterly wrong(for example, the Alligator in the illustration for "A" is eating a salad, which is naturally what "A" is for.... right?). Lester helpfully includes a guide at the end to help those who haven't figured it out along the way, but it's all in good fun.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0698119266/qid=1100234590/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3267638-2396141

Moxley, Sheila. An Alphabet Books of Cats and Dogs. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001. Sure to illicit giggles from children and adults alike, photographs of actual cats and dogs are placed into vibrant illustrations of tongue twisting sentences where words begin with one letter of the alphabet. A dog, for example, is transformed by the addition of a drawn on napkin tied around his neck for E: "Edward enjoys eating eggs."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316592404/qid%3D1098981089/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-3586092-4238552

Schnur, Steven. Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Calarion, 2001. Strong graphics showcase individual words for each letter of the alphabet. C, for instance, is represented by the word cabin spelled out vertically: "Close by/ A glittering/ Blue lake, high/ In the mountains, Nestles a fishing lodge.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618023720/qid%3D1098981203/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-3586092-4238552

Shannon, George. Tomorrow's Alphabet. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1996. Examines the concepts of growth, time, and change with each letter representing a word that began as something else. In this unique version of an alphabet book tomatoes are found under K instead of T because "K is for tomato- tomorrow's KETCHUP."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0688164242/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Steig, Jeanne, and Steig, William. Alpha Beta Chowder. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1992. The illustrations are goofy in the typical Steig manner, but it's the accompanying poems that are the real stars of the show here. Each letter is given a multi-paragraph poem that seems more like an exercise in cramming as much alliteration into a single line than a serious attempt at poetry(not that that's a bad thing by any means...) Younger readers may be thrown by some of the language, which tends towards the obscure(axolotl? dirndl? yataghan??) but the rhythms and cadences will still entertain.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0062050060/qid=1100236677/sr=12-1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Viorst, Judith. The Alphabet from Z to A (With Much Confusion on the Way). New York: Antheneum, 1994. The title warns of the confusion of starting with Z and ending with A, but the text contains the joke that the real confusion comes from the anomalies within the English language itself. U, for instance is examined: "U is for UNDERWEAR, UNCLE, UNWRAP. But it can't be for ONION. Absurd!"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0689317689/qid=1098981115/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3586092-4238552?v=glance&s=books

Wilbur, Richard. The Disappearing Alphabet. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1997. Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator David Diaz infuses the text with energy from the free styles of the graphics. The text differs from other alphabet books, asking readers and listeners to imagine what would happen if a letter disappeared from a word, such as the absence of the letter N resulting in an owl with wigs instead of wings.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/015216362X/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Catalanotto, Peter. Matthew A. B. C. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002. This entire classroom is filled with weirdos, but there is appreciation and acceptance to be found among these guys. The wild humor in this book will be very appealing to your kids.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0689845820/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-page

Dodd, Emma. Dog's Abc: A Silly Story About the Alphabet. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2002. Dog's day is filled with ABC encounters that leave him exhausted. "ZZZZzzzz.."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0525468374/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Duke, Kate. The Guinea Pig Abc. New York: Dutton, 1983. A sweet mischievious bunch of guinea pigs demonstrate the concepts in this little book. The illustrations are cute, but also pretty sophisticated in their composition.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525440585/qid=1100067820/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Hobbie, Holly. Toot & Puddle: Puddle's Abc. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. A tender story unfolds as Puddle sets out to teach his friend Otto how to write his own name. Kid's will relate to Otto's joy over his accomplishments.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316365939/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Leuck, Laura. Jeepers Creepers: A Monstrous Abc. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2003. Prepare for some raucous humor in this classroom of wacky monsters. This book is sure to get your kid's imaginations running wild.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081183509X/qid=1099539484/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Merriam, Eve. Spooky Abc. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002. These illustrations are just creepy enough to be appealing to kids and sophisticated enough to appeal to adults. Each letter is accompanied by a spooky poem.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0689853564/qid=1099974803/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Art

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Alphabet. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1975. Surrealist touches grace this book of exquisitely illustrated letters. Each letter is presented on one page, rendered in a trompe l'oeil style that makes them appear as if they're made of wood(and often configured in eye-bendingly impossible forms), while the opposite page features slightly off-kilter tableaus of jesters juggling giant jacks, wooden French horns and bizarre perpetual motion machines.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0064431908/ref=lpr_g_2/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Jay, Alison. ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2003. Against the look of old-fashioned tiles the classic structure of an alphabet book representing an object for each letter hides additional objects to search for. For instance, while the page for S focuses on a shell to illustrate the text, there are other nearby objects such as seaweed on the sand and a ship sailing by on the backdrop of the sea.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525469516/qid=1098980988/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3586092-4238552?v=glance&s=books

Lobel, Anita. Alison's Zinnia. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1990. This book features a simple setup- each letter gets a flower, a girl, and a verb to connect them, and the end result is a beautifully illustrated book that could easily double as a seed catalog.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688088651/qid=1100235203/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3267638-2396141

MacDonald, Ross. Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press, 2003. Ross MacDonald pairs bizarre, "Mad" magazine-esque illustrations with actual 19th century hand-printed wooden type, and ends up with a book that's both both fascinating and darkly comic. The type itself is a wide variety of colorful serif and sans-serif display faces, and pairs nicely with MacDonald's kinetic watercolors and goofy onomatopoeia. Older kids and artistically-inclined readers will be interested in the typesetting process, which MacDonald thoughtfully demonstrates on the last two pages.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761317961/ref=lpr_g_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Pelletier, David. The Graphic Alphabet. New York: Orchard, 1996. Bright colors flowing off their black backgrounds depict both the forms of the letters as well as illustrating an action of a word beginning with that letter. While the dot of the j is juggled, colorful swirls of smoke drift from the letter P pipe.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0531360016/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Rankin, Laura. The Handmade Alphabet. New York: Dial Books, 1991. Subtle drawings illustrate how to sign each letter of the alphabet while incorporating an object beginning with that letter. Even the letter J is accurately depicted with the sweeping pinkie finger of the J curving down into a jar of jam.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140558764/qid=1098980953/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3586092-4238552

Wormell, Chistopher. An Alphabet of Animals. New York: Dial Books, 1990. A striking take on the look of a classic alphabet book with large, clean letters shown in both upper and lower case with corresponding animals beautifully created by handcut linoleum blocks and hand inked.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1561387045/102-3586092-4238552?v=glance

Yoshi, Ruth. A to Zen: A Book of Japanese Culture. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1992. Readers understand that this is not a typical ABC book as soon as they try to open the cover with the message: "This book begins on the other side" to follow the Japanese style of reading a book from back to front and right to left. The letters L, Q, V, and X are excluded because there are no sounds to represent them while the remaining 22 letters beautifully illustrate lengthy descriptions of Japanese words.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0887081754/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Aylesworth, Jim. The Folks in the Valley: A Pennsylvania Dutch Abc. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1992. Folk style painting on rough wood make up the illustrations in this book about the Amish lifestyle and the old ways of working.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0694009814/qid=1099538454/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Drucker, Malka. A Jewish Holiday Abc. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1992. These rich illustrations are paper collages with details in colored pencil. An intriguing look into the Jewish holiday traditions, this book will surely be a conversation starter.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152013660/qid=1099974577/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Frampton, David. My Beastie Book of Abc: Rhymes and Woodcuts. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2002. Wild colors and bold woodcut illustrations make this a fascinating book for young and old.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/006028823X/qid=1099974706/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Hobbie, Holly. Toot & Puddle: Puddle's Abc. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. A tender story unfolds as Puddle sets out to teach his friend Otto how to write his own name. Kids will relate to Otto's joy over his accomplishments.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316365939/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Howell, Will C. Zoo Flakes Abc. New York, NY: Walker & Company, 2002. The paper cutouts in this book are amazing. And, as a bonus, there are basic instructions in the back to get you started on your own Zoo Flakes.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0802788262/qid=1099974764/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Mayers, Florence Cassen. A Russian Abc: Abv: Featuring Masterpieces from the Hermitage, St. Petersburg. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, in association with SMART, St. Petersburg, 1992. The Russian letters are matched with pictures fine art objects. The spelling of each word is given in Russian, with the phonetic pronunciation in English.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0810919192/qid=1099539073/sr=1- 1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Metropolitan Museum of Art. Museum Abc. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 2002. A is for Apple, but what a variety of apples we have here! Each item is shown as rendered by several different artists.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316071706/qid=1099974876/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-7260326-8314562

Wilks, Mike. The Ultimate Alphabet. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co., 1986. Part alphabet book, part scavenger hunt, this book easily justifies it's claim to be the "ultimate" alphabet book(The author claims that there are at least 8,050 items in the book!). Each letter's illustration is crammed with literally hundreds of impeccably painted objects in settings reminiscent of Rennaissance scenery. (Wilks has since released an annotated version to make the hunting a little easier.)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805025162/ref=lpr_g_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Photography

Helman, Andrea. O is for Orca: a Pacific Northwest Alphabet Books. Seattle: Sasquatch, 1995. Photographs illustrate descriptions of people, animals, objects and places seen in the Pacific Northwest ranging from Haida totem pole for H to Mt. Rainier for R.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570613923/qid=1098980873/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3586092-4238552

Hoban, Tana. 26 Letters and 99 Cents. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1987. A simple structure with easily identifiable letters in both upper and lower case placed next to photographs of recognizable objects beginning with a toy airplane and ending with a red zipper.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/068814389X/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Hoban, Tana. A, B, See! New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1982. Hoban presents a collection of various photograms in black and white. The shapes are simple and easily identifiable to make this book perfect for even the youngest readers.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068800833X/ref=lpr_g_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Korab, Balthazar. Archabet: An Architectural Alphabet. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 1992. This clever book of black and white photographs taken of American architectural scenes requires a little patience to find the letter shapes in each picture, but the payoff is worth it and the photos themselves are wonderful.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471143510/ref=lpr_g_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

McMillan, Bruce. The Alphabet Symphony. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1977. The Portland Symphony Orchestra steps in to lend McMillan a hand in producing letters of the alphabets based on the shapes of musical instruments. McMillan goes to great lengths to find interesting compositions in the orchestra pit.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688841120/qid=1100236050/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Milich, Zoran. The City ABC Book. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2001. A creative view of everyday objects in a city with a letter embedded within a black and white photograph and highlighted in red. For example, an ordinary fire escape demands a closer look when the letter K is discovered among its steps and railways.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1550749420/qid=1098981056/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3586092-4238552?v=glance&s=books

Crosbie, Michael J. Arches to Zigzags: And Architecture Abc. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 2000. Kids get to learn the names of the structural elements of buildings in this interesting book. "A is for Arch.."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0810942186/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Nature & Science

Helman, Andrea. O is for Orca: a Pacific Northwest Alphabet Book. Seattle: Sasquatch, 1995. Photographs illustrate descriptions of people, animals, objects and places seen in the Pacific Northwest ranging from Haida totem pole for H to Mt. Rainier for R.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570613923/qid=1098980873/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3586092-4238552

Schnur, Steven. Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Calarion, 2001. Strong graphics showcase individual words for each letter of the alphabet. C, for instance, is represented by the word cabin spelled out vertically: "Close by/ A glittering/ Blue lake, high/ In the mountains, Nestles a fishing lodge."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618023720/qid%3D1098981203/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-3586092-4238552

Schwartz, David M. Q is for Quark: A Science Alphabet Book. Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 2001. Cheeky drawings dot pages similar in form to a children's encyclopedia with scientific descriptions, explanations, and questions for readers including concepts like G for gravity, O for Occam's Razor, and D for DNA.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1582460213/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-3586092-4238552#reader-link

Silliness

Agee, Jon. Z Goes Home. New York, NY: Hyperion, 2003. A courageous capital Z makes it's way home through a landscape made of weird and wacky letters. Agee skillfully molds the objects referenced in each scene into the shapes of the letters, so that the labyrinth is made up of giant capital "L"s, the bridge is made of a massive "B" and the viper is suspiciously "V"-shaped.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786819871/qid=1100231815/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3267638-2396141

Blake, Quentin. Quentin Blake's ABC. London: Random House, 1989. Quentin Blake's mastery of utterly ridiclulous poetry and loose, frenetic watercolors creates a hilarious, appropriately childish and unconventional look at the alphabet. Lines such as "A is for apples/some green and some red" seem perfectly normal, until paired with Blake's joyful businessman(in a three-piece suit complete with watch chain!) throwing aside his hat and umbrella to juggle fruit for a couple of laughing kids.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0099439646/qid=1100233098/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/202-7030163-5032660

Diversity

Mayers, Florence Cassen. A Russian Abc: Abv: Featuring Masterpieces from the Hermitage, St. Petersburg. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, in association with SMART, St. Petersburg, 1992. The Russian letters are matched with pictures of fine art objects. The spelling of each word is given in Russian, with the phonetic pronunciation in English.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0810919192/qid=1099539073/sr=1- 1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Milne, A.A. (Alan Alexander). Winnie-the-Pooh's Abc. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2001. Featuring the beloved illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard, each page shows how to sign the letter and the word that is illustrated. Kids will love learning how to use this non-spoken language.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0525467149/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Tapahonso, Luci, and Eleanor Schick. Navajo Abc: A Dine Alphabet Book. New York, NY: Macmillan Books for Young Readers, 1995. Beautiful, soft drawings illustrate this collection based on the Navaho culture. A brief glossery is included which provides further details on the significance of each item or concept. "L is for loom.."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0689826850/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Geography

Bowen, Betsy. Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. Northern Minnesota resident Bown puts together a fascinating collection of scenes of northwoods life. There's many layers to this book, from the information-stuffed descriptions to the very subtle transition through the seasons, and the marvelous woodcut illustrations are a treat as well.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/061820864X/qid=1100233531/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

Briggs, Kelly Paul. Island Alphabet. Camden, ME: Downest Bookos, 1995. Simple poems for each letter of the alphabet simply depict Maine history. Without distracting, a smaller font follows the four line poem to provide more information on the historical event.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?sourceid=00407806628325405158&ISBN=0892723696&bfdate=11-09-2004+10:17:59

Helman, Andrea. O is for Orca: a Pacific Northwest Alphabet Book. Seattle: Sasquatch, 1995. Photographs illustrate descriptions of people, animals, objects, and places seen in the Pacific Northwest ranging from the Haida totem pole for H to Mt. Rainier for R.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570613923/qid=1098980873/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-3586092-4238552

Schnur, Steven. Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Calarion, 2001. Strong graphics showcase individual words for each letter of the alphabet. C, for instance, is represented by the word cabin spelled out vertically: "Close by/ A glittering/ Blue lake, high/ In the mountains, Nestles a fishing lodge."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618023720/qid%3D1098981203/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-3586092-4238552

Demarest, Chris L. The Cowboy Abc. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 1999. Using simple language, this book conveys a sense of poetry and appreciation for the beauty that fills the western landscape. "A is for Appaloosa..."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789481901/qid=1099538394/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-7260326-8314562

Mayers, Florence Cassen. A Russian Abc: Abv: Featuring Masterpieces from the Hermitage, St. Petersburg. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, in association with SMART, St. Petersburg, 1992. The Russian letters are matched with pictures of fine art objects. The spelling of each word is given in Russian, with the phonetic pronunciation in English.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0810919192/qid=1099539073/sr=1- 1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7260326-8314562?v=glance&s=books

Palotta, Jerry and Astrella, Mark. The Desert Alphabet Book. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 1994. From the Sahara to the Mojave, from the wily fennec fox to the stately saguaro cactus, desert life is brought up close and personal with informative descriptions.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0881064726/qid=1100236397/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3267638-2396141?v=glance&s=books

City Life

Pearson, Debora. Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming Abc. New York, NY: Holiday House, 2003. Bright, simple illustrations show a variety of vehicles as they zip along through city traffic.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0823417220/qid=1099539720/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-7260326-8314562

Sobel, June. B Is for Bulldozer: A Construction Abc. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 2003. Lots of big noisy machines for your heavy equipment-obsessed kids. It is pleasant to note that this book shows men and women working as equals on this construction site.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0152022503/ref=sib_db_rdr/102-7260326-8314562#reader-link

Suggest a book!

ABC ...from A to Z

A resource for librarians, teachers, parents, and caregivers

LIS 506LE: Fall 2004 - Marissa Goodell, Jomichele Seidl, & Stewart Fritz

Bibliography

Writing

Art

Photography

Nature & Science

Silliness

Diversity

Geography

City Life

ABC ...from A to Z

A resource for librarians, teachers, parents, and caregivers

LIS 506LE: Fall 2004 - Marissa Goodell, Jomichele Seidl, & Stewart Fritz

Activities

Bibliography

Bibliography

Writing

Art

Photography

Nature & Science

Silliness

Diversity

Geography

City Life