A IS FOR ARTIST

This creative team offers an illustrative interpretation of the alphabet. While the collaborators follow the traditional format, their deft mingling of text and collage artistry offers readers a refreshing pictorial journey through the alphabet. A two-page spread is devoted to identifying and conveying the purposeful use of each letter, with the featured letter placed within the larger illustration and the text comprised solely of either a single word or collection of words. Readers can rely upon and study the mixed-media illustrations for further alphabetic enlightenment. The fun lies in the imaginative selection and arrangements, which sometimes segue into the profound. The most remarkable being the spread for W, wherein a crisp photograph of leafy woods is overlaid with shiny yet clear imprints of other W words—wizard, wigwam, woodpecker, etc.—which can be distinguished by feel or clever manipulation of the pages. This imagination-stretching, multi-sensory approach to the alphabet will be an extraordinary addition to any collection. (Picture book. 4-8)