More a visual than a verbal literacy booster, this alphabet presents 26 classic black-and-white photos from the Getty Museum collections—opening with an 1862 shot of “Abe” Lincoln at Antietam, closing with one taken ten years earlier of a snoozing hippo in a London zoo, and in between offering works from Steiglitz, Weegee, Lange, Halsman and other, mostly renowned, photographers. Nearly all feature children or, at least, subjects that children will comprehend, and amusing or ironic captions: “K is for kooky” aptly describes a dancer posing in a costume made of wire loops, for instance, and “M is for manners” comments archly on glowering Italian peasants stuffing handfuls of pasta into their mouths. As enticing invitations to look for clues and details in the photos are unfortunately relegated to the end, along with the identifying labels, this is less well-designed than Charles Sullivan’s Alphabet Animals (1991)—but it does make a complementary introduction to photography as an artistic medium. (Picture book. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 9, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-89236-878-5
Page Count: 58
Publisher: Getty Publications
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., “Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.” Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-292858-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
