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ELLSWORTH’S EXTRAORDINARY ELECTRIC EARS by Valorie Fisher

ELLSWORTH’S EXTRAORDINARY ELECTRIC EARS

and Other Amazing Alphabet Anecdotes

by Valorie Fisher & illustrated by Valorie Fisher

Pub Date: June 1st, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85030-1
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Atheneum

Astonishingly arranged assemblages of toys and miniatures described by alliterative nonsense phrases are depicted in brightly colored photographs. The title phrase refers to a small plastic businessman with tiny lit-up light bulbs sticking out of his ears. The creativity of the phrases, one for each letter of the alphabet, is only outdone by the effort it must have taken to find and arrange the small items that make up the whimsical dioramas. “Mario’s mechanical moustache machine made many mistakes” shows a cardboard cutout of a piece of antique-looking machinery placed near figurines of animals and people, to which the author/artist has attached tiny, exaggerated handlebar moustaches. The pictures frequently include additional objects that begin with the respective letter, encouraging readers to look closely: even though the word “moon” is not mentioned, it also wears a moustache on the “M” page. Impressive and innovative. (Picture book. 5-8)