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Alphabetabum: An Album of Rare Photographs and Medium Verses

written by Chris Raschka
Photography collection by Vladimir Radunsky
New York Review Children’s Collection        10/01/2014
978-1-59017-817-1
Age 4 to 7        80 pages
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“An ALPHABET book?
“An ALBUM of old photos?
“We named it ALPHABETABUM.

“Here celebrated artist and author Vladimir Radunsky and Chris Raschka put a delightful new old-fashioned spin on the alphabet book. Radunsky has selected portraits off children from is spectacular collection of antique black-and-white photographs. Raschka has given the children names and written deliciously teasing rhymes about them. The result is ALPHABETABUM, a book of letters and pictures to which readers will happily return to again and again both to look and to learn.”

Opening

[A picture of a young girl in a short dress with a sash.]

                   “Aa
Awkward Agnes Alexandra
Shows her ample ankles
Although her knees are grander.”

Review

Vladimir Radunsky writes, “If these photos were taken in the late-nineteenth or early-twentieth centuries, then the children in them could have been our great-great-great grandparents! So we have an extraordinary chance to see what our great-great-great grandparents looked when they were children.”

There are 26 photographs of children of varying ages in Alphabetabum; the first original book from New York Review Children’s Collection (all others are reprinted classics). I looked closely at the eyes after reading Radunsky’s thoughts that one of these could be a great-great-great-grandparent, aunt, or uncle. I have never seen any pictures of my parents as children, so seeing what they might have worn captivated my attention as well.

Some of the portraits are comical, like young Baby Beulah Bridget who wears a huge white bow upon her tiny head. The bow is too big for her small head and looks to topple at any moment. From the clothing, it is obvious these children are from all over the world. One young boy, named Quiet Quentin Quint, wears long white pants under a black pair of knickers with an ornate jacket and cummerbund. Atop his head is a stocking cap (today, we call these skullcaps) and leans on a cricket bat. Quentin is a serious child.

The photographs in Alphabetabum range from the casual to the formal, though it would not have been a casual friend taking the casual picture. In all cases, the person behind, or next to, the lens would have been a professional photographer. Photographs back then took quite a while to develop and many people had to hold that smile for several minutes. In today’s instant world, I wonder if such portraits are possible.

Alphabetabum is an interesting and quite curious ABC book. It is really more for older kids and adults, not the young child trying to learn their ABC’s, though it could be done. These ABC’s are for those who love poetry, old photographs, and funny verses that try to define the child based on their clothing, they way they pose, and maybe a smile or lack thereof. The names are all alliterated and interesting. I like Alphabetabum because of it’s quirkiness and because I love old photos and photography. I don’t think you need to have those interests to find Alphabetabum worth your time. Alphabetabum will become endearing, leading you to want to share this unusual ABC picture book.

ALPHABETABUM: AN ALBUM OF RARE PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEDIUM VERSES. Text copyright © 2014 by Chris Raschka. Photographs copyright © 2014 by Vladimir Radunsky. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, New York Review Children’s Collection, New York, NY.
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Buy Alphabetabum at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—New York Review of Books—your favorite bookstore.

Learn more about Alphabetabum HERE

Meet the author, Chris Raschka, at his twitter:   https://twitter.com/ChrisRaschka

Meet the photography collector, Vladimir Radunsky, at his website:    http://www.vladimirradunsky.com/

Find classic children’s books at the New York Review Children’s Collection website:  http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/childrens/

The New York Review Children’s Collection is an imprint of New York Review of Books.   http://www.nybooks.com/

Also by Chris Raschka

 

 

 

 

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Also by Vladimir Radunsky

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Review HERE

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Copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Historical Fiction, Library Donated Books, NonFiction, Picture Book, Poetry Tagged: ABC Book, alliteration, children's book reviews, Chris Raschka, classic photographs from early 20th century, formal portraits of children from long ago, New York Review Children’s Collection, New York Review of Books, poetry, Vladimir Radunsky

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This book was published in 2007, but I have only just discovered it, so it's new to me! Where The Giant Sleeps is basically THE perfect bed time story. It's got a lullaby story in the form of a softly dancing poem, it's got art that could not be more fairytale enchanting or imaginative, and lastly, the quality is there (the hardcover is lovely). I was at my local bookstore tonight which has wonderful vairety and I gravitated toward this book. It will be perfect for my good friend's three-year-old daughter— I can see them getting a lot of use out of this book, reading this story to send her (and, eventually her baby brother) off into sleep, night after night for a very long time. :)

Where The Giant Sleeps is Written by Mem Fox, Illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky,

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Having done a Storytime Corner on cats, it only makes sense that we’d have to do one on dogs, right?  I’m a cat person myself, but these dog stories are completely irresistible.  And to keep all your parents and kids happy, you could even consider mixing up the dog and cat stories to make an integrated “Pets” program!

STORIES:

IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (On-sale 10.4.11)

THAT PUP! by Lindsay Barrett George

NO DOGS ALLOWED! by Anne Davis

TEN LITTLE PUPPIES/Diez perritos by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, illustrated by Ulises Wensell

Usually when I do storytimes, I like to make some books available for checkout that follow the theme.  Here are a few ideas of books you can display for checkout post-program:

CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG by Ree Drummond, illustrated by Diane deGroat
DOGS by Seymour Simon
HARRY THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
HIP HOP DOG by Chris Raschka, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky
I AM THE DOG by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jack E. Davis
MAGGIE’S BALL by Lindsay Barrett George
ZOOMER by Ned Young

I started compiling song, rhyme, and craft ideas…and then I realized that Storytime Katie had most likely already put together something fabulous for a dog-themed storytime.  And she had.  Check out her

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My Basset Hound, Hush Puppy, under the Christmas tree

*Picture book for preschoolers through 2nd graders
*Young girl and cute dog as main characters
*Rating: Anyone, child or adult, who has ever been searching for the perfect pet will love You? by Vladimir Radunsky.

Short, short summary: In the park, a poor, little lonely dog is searching for someone to love him. A poor, little lonely girl is searching for a friend in the same park but in a different place (like over the fence). Many funny, cute, and peculiar dogs and their owners pass by, and the lonely dog and the lonely girl wish to be with them all. Finally in the end, they spot each other and say, “Woof?” and “You?” One of the cutest things about You? is that the dog speaks in “dog language” with woofs, arfs, and bow-wows, and this is translated into English by Vladimir Radunsky’s dog, Tsetsa. (Brilliant dog!)

Speaking of brilliant dogs, here’s our Boxer, Chester, when he was 7 1/2 months old.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Children will have such fun with this book. They will love the dog speak and translations! Students can get creative, pick an animal, do a couple illustrations, and write in cat speak or tiger speak or bird speak what the animal is saying and the English translation!

2. You? is a good book to discuss children’s emotions. How is the little girl feeling at the beginning? Sad and lonely. Ask students to tell you, write about, or draw a time when they felt the same way. In the end, the girl feels differently. How does she feel? Why? Students can also make a personal connection with this feeling at the end, too.

3. Children will want to talk all about their pets after you finish reading this book. You might want to save You? for a pet day or a show and tell day. Students could bring in pictures of their pets (or their favorite animals if they don’t have a pet) and share their pets with the class. If you home school, children could make a book about their pets, almost like a baby book–when the pet was born, when he came to your house, what he likes to eat, and activities he likes to do.

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