书评
From Publishers Weekly
This wordless ABC, a Caldecott Honor book illustrated with
photo-realistic still lifes, "transcends the genre by demanding
close inspection of not just letters, but the world," said PW in a
starred review. All ages.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1 Up?Beginning with the A formed by a construction site's
sawhorse and ending with the Z found in the angle of a fire escape,
Johnson draws viewers' eyes to tiny details within everyday objects
to find letters. In this wordless tour of sights from Times Square
to the Brooklyn Bridge, he invites young and old alike to take a
new look at familiar surroundings, discovering the alphabet without
ever looking in a book or reading from a sign. Conceived in the
tradition of Ann Jonas's work, especially The Thirteenth Clue
(Greenwillow, 1992), Johnson's pastel, watercolor, gouache, and
charcoal paintings are much more realistic than his illustrations
for The Samurai's Daughter (Dial, 1992); in fact, they are almost
photographic in appearance. Some of the images are both clever and
incredibly clear, e.g., the E found in the sideways view of a
traffic light. Others, such as the C in the rose window of a Gothic
church, are more obscure. Nevertheless, all of the paintings are
beautifully executed and exhibit a true sense of artistic vision.
While parents or teachers might assume from the title that this is
a traditional alphabet book, they should be encouraged to look at
it as an art book. It's sure to inspire older children to venture
out on their own walks to discover the alphabet in the familiar
objects of their own hometowns.?Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle
Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers
to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 4^-7. This is hardly an alphabet book for preschoolers; some of
the depictions of letters may stump older kids (or even adults!).
Nevertheless, the artwork is quite amazing. At first glance, or
even second, the art appears to be photographs, such is the
beautiful clarity of the pictures. However, the paintings are
actually done in pastels, watercolors, gouache, and charcoal on hot
pressed watercolor paper. The images themselves, one to a page,
with each forming a letter of the alphabet, are urban: A is a
construction sawhorse; P, a handrail in the subway; Z, a building's
fire escape. Some of the pictures, especially those that use
negative space, are harder to spot. Still, this is sure to
intrigue, and art teachers, especially, will enjoy finding ways to
use such a unique offering. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
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