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All my kids learned to read their first words from the backseat of a car, which is exactly why I am so excited and pleased with Marie van Lieshout's new book, Backseat A-B-See. van Lieshout does a wonderful job from A to Z, from the images to the layout to the signs she discovered to go with every letter of the alphabet and Chronicle Books has done a fantastic job with the production of 

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A to Z Challenge Day 17: Q .  4.75 Queenie Mac’s new picture book is called It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . .   (back cover):  It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . . is a fanciful frolic through the alphabetical animal kingdom with alliterations galore and the whimsical illustrations from each and [...]

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Z is For Moose
by Kelly Bingham
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow Books, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Zebra is putting on a production of the alphabet. Everything is going just fine ("A is for Apple/B is for Ball/C is for Cat") when suddenly Moose breaks in -- "D is for Moose." Moose keeps asking if it's his turn through E, F, G, H, I, J, and K. Anticipation builds on L, and then...

"M is for Mouse."

Moose goes ballistic, completely wrecking the set for N, O, P, and Q. Just like Melanie Watt's Chester, Moose takes his red crayon to R and S, and then Zebra protects T-Y with his life.

Good ol' Zebra finds a way to include Moose in the end!

I loved this book immediately and shared it with my students when the F&Gs came a few months ago. When I got my Horn Book Magazine this week, I was pleased to receive a confirmation of my opinion. The book received a starred review from Horn Book!

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CAVEMAN ABC STORY by Janee Trasler is a fun story about a Caveman and his pet(s). It begins with the letter A, when the Caveman and his pet Squirrel find an "ACORN". But the word on the 2nd page is "BEAR" and you know what that means. The author takes us through the letters of the alphabet, using one word for each letter, to tell us a story of the caveman.  First of all, this is a fun, unique ABC book in that it tells a complete story with only one word per letter/page.  APPLE PIE ABC was similar in format, but relied on phrases rather than single words to tell the story.  (It would be fun to pair these two.) Not only is CAVEMAN ABC STORY a fun concept, but the illustrations are colorful and fun. This is definitely a book that kids will want to pick up.  And it is a great book for new readers--it will support picture reading, word work strategies, storytelling and more.  A MUST HAVE, I think:-)

The other new ABC book I love is IF ROCKS COULD SING: A DISCOVERED ALPHABET by Leslie McGuirk (I learned about this one from Bill at Literate Lives.)  Author, Leslie McGuirk began a collection of rocks years ago when she noticed rocks that looked like letters. This book showcases her collection in Alphabet Book format. Not only has Leslie McGuirk found rocks that look like every letter of the alphabet, but she's also found rocks that look like obj

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When I taught Kindergarten and 1st grade, I had a huge collection of alphabet books in my classroom. They are such a great genre for young children.  Now that I am a librarian, I don't think we can have too many good alphabet books. So, I am always thrilled when I find a good new alphabet book to add to the collection.

Yesterday at Cover to Cover, I spotted A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET by Debra Frasier. The colors on the cover immediately caught my eye. Bright, bold colors against a white background.

Each page of this great alphabet book focuses on one thing that you see at the fair. Cotton Candy....Lemonade....Tractor. Alongside the illustration of the object is the word, made up of various letter styles from the fair.  Around the page are many versions of the letter that the word starts with. From reading the inside flap of the book, I learned that Debra Frasier loves the state fair and took photos of the lettering at the fair.  She used these photos to create this book and the end pages give a clue into some of her work. They are filled with photos of the fair--photos that include lettering and photos that do not include lettering.

I love so much about this book.  First of all, I love cotton candy and any book that includes cotton candy is a must-have for me.  But I love the letter and they way they are used on each page. So many different types of each letter.  For young children who are just starting to recognize the different ways one letter can look, this is a great resource. I can see kids wanting to create their own words out of letters they find in newspapers and magazines.  For older kids, this is an amazing piece of art.  So much to look at on every page.

I was thrilled to find a fun game and video from Debra Frasier connected to this book. If you visit her website, you can download a game card to take with you to the fair--looking for words all over.

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Does Format change a story?

Format. Yes, it makes a difference. How you present information or how you present a story make a difference to the text. For example, I’ve been wanting to write a nonfiction book about a topic and tried writing a proposal for a middle grade book. It didn’t seem right. But then, I decided to try it as a non-fiction ABC book and it has worked well. That format – short snippets of information about 26 subjects – covers the topic very well. Yes, I could include much, much more information; isn’t that always true about a topic you’re passionate about? But this covers the right amount of information for the early elementary years. Just enough, but not overwhelming. The format is right.

Notice that this format change also meant a change in the age of the intended audience.

I’ve taken stories and tried them as a graphic novel, as a middle grade novel and as a YA novel. I’ve taken an early chapter book and divided it into six equal-length chapters, and then divided it again into multiple short, uneven-length chapters (such as Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little). The story doesn’t change, but it feels very different. There are books which I find I can’t read, (Heaven’s Eyes by David Almond) but when I listen to the audio version, I love it. I wonder if stories will feel different when read as an ebook?

Audience and format can change the content, the voice, the tone, or the overall feel of a story. What format do you envision for your story? How does that affect what/how you write?

Related posts:

1. Michelle Nagler, Bloomsbury
2. Manuscript Length

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Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans. Library copy. Picture Book.

The Plot: An ABC book featuring endangered animals.

The Good: Alphabet books serve multiple functions. Sometimes, it is the obvious -- to teach the alphabet, to teach what words begin with what letters. Pure literacy. Which is cool.

But that's not this book; here, it's a device used to teach about endangered animals. Each letter illustrates a different animal. Black letters on white pages have been made to resemble parts of animals; sometimes it is easy to tell, sometimes it is more elaborate. You can see some of that on the book cover. It's inventive, it's fun, and it's gorgeous.

As McLimans says in the introduction, "In a way, this alphabet is a return to picture writing. The challenge for me in creating these images was finding endangered animals whose shape and form fit naturally together with the letters that begin their names."

Each page contains the name of the animal, including the Latin name, a full drawing of the animal (in red), and information such as class, habitat, range, threats, and status. A sample using the letter G is found at McLimans' website.

At the end of the book there is additional information on each animal.

Links: New York Times Best Illustrated Books 2006. (slide show)

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