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The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z

Steve Martin

Illustrated by Roz Chast

Picture Book

Ages 5 to 8

Random House, 2007, 978-0-385-51662-4

  Alphabet books are more varied today than they have ever been. Some are straightforward ABC books that use pictures and single words to help children to learn their alphabet. Others are packed with information about a variety of subjects. In this unique title the author and illustrator have chosen to entertain their audience while they show them that there is a wonderful world of words out there.

  For every letter of the alphabet Steve Martin has created a funny nonsense rhyming couplet in which he introduces some characters who are doing things that are amusing, downright outrageous, or deliciously naughty. In each line of verse Martin uses plenty of words beginning with the letter of the alphabet on that page. On the H page for example we meet Henrietta the hare who “wore a habit in heaven” and who had a “hairdo” which “hid hunchbacks: one hundred and seven.”

  Readers will laugh at loud at the things that are described in the couplets, and they will also discover that the accompanying illustrations are packed with things whose names begin with the letter being featured. Thus, on the L page we not only read that Lovely Lorraine discovering that long Louie has Larry’s locket, but in the artwork we see, among other things, a lamppost, a boy licking a lollipop, a loud hailer, and a lawyer.

  Children will have a wonderful time reading the rhymes out loud and searching the illustrations for hidden objects and words.

  This is Steve Martin’s first foray into the world of alphabet books and we hope that it is not the last.

 

 

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