Alphabet Adventure FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
The ABC's set off on a mysterious adventure in this vibrant new picture book from Audrey Wood. After a summer of training, the alphabet is ready to go to school and help young students to read. While leaving Alphabet Island to go to school, little i falls off the bridge! Working as a team, the other letters save her, but they soon realize she is missing her dot. They search far and wide to find the dot, as the alphabet would be incomplete without it. Their hunt is unsuccessful, and big I suggests that they look for replacements for the missing dot -- a ladybug, a star, and a cherry are a few possibilities. But the dot suddenly jumps out and claims her spot with little i. Dot's game of hide-and-seek is over, and the team head to school just in time.
This wonderfully bright introduction to the alphabet offers more than a mere lesson. Kids can search the pages for little i's dot, as it is hidden in each layout. Use of both capital and lowercase letters, in order and in disarray, will help youngsters recognize letters in all their states. The illustrations are vibrant and unique, using 3-D software to create clean, graphic images. With eye-catching pictures and a charming adventure, kids will be using their ABC's in no time. (Amy Barkat)
ANNOTATION
On their way to school, the little letters of the alphabet have to rescue little "i" and then find his dot before they can proceed.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Best-selling author Audrey Wood collaborates with her son Bruce Wood on Alphabet Adventure, a wonderfully different ABC book that tells the story of an alphabet that sets off to teach a young student his letters. But along the way, the lowercase letter "i" loses her dot, which later reappears. Kids will delight in looking back through the pages to find the dot hidden in every illustration. In colors as bright as sunshine, children will learn the names of each letter of the alphabet, in order and out of order!
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature
As the lower-case letters of Charley's alphabet march over a bridge to school to help children learn the alphabet, little i falls into the water and loses her dot. They all search but cannot find it. So they all bring something to substitute: b a bug, c a cherry, h a heart, and so forth. But the dot won't be left behind; it comes out of hiding so they can get to school on time to make their first word. The letters look like the kind that spell words out on the refrigerator. They have their adventures on double pages that appear almost surreal as computer-generated houses, trees and all have a sameness, as if frozen in space. An amusing if unemotional practice in letter recognition. 2001, Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, $15.95. Ages 3 to 6. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1-In this cleverly conceived and dramatically executed story, the small letters of Charley's Alphabet are ready to graduate to their real task, which is to help the child learn his ABC's. Unfortunately, an accident that leaves little "i" missing its dot threatens to derail the mission. Capital "I" saves the day with a clever plan and all is well for the little alphabet and Charley. There are many crafty elements to this clever story. After little "i" is rescued, the other letters are so excited that they line up in the wrong order and some are upside down or backwards. Observant youngsters will spy little "i's" dot following it. The glossy illustrations are computer generated. Highlights, textures, and shadows are extremely successful using this medium and add great interest. Each page glows with jewel tones and is a feast for the eye. Children who are mastering the alphabet will be fascinated by this book, not only because of the letters but also in the suggestion that the alphabet can be theirs.-Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
The alphabet letters are stuck on Alphabet Island. "Oh, who knows what to do?" There's no pageboy to pull the plug and solve the problem as in Wood's King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (1985). An adult reading to a child, however, might be tempted to pull the plug on the plodding story and concentrate solely on the vibrant, double-page spreads by Woods's son. The story follows a cast of 3-D lower-case alphabet letters (plus their leader, Capital T for teacher) preparing to leave Alphabet Island to go to school. Little "i" loses her dot, setting up a slight mystery that sends the letters searching all over the island for it; it's hiding somewhere in each illustration. The missing dot returns when she is about to be replaced, and the alphabet team climbs aboard a pencil to jet off to school, where they help a boy spell his name. The computer-generated illustrations far surpass the slight story, with jaunty letters in crayon-bright colors and an appealing Alphabet Island full of turquoise canals, palm trees, and brightly painted row houses. Illustrator Woods creatively varies the perspective with overhead views and flying pencils that seem ready to rocket right off the page. Preschoolers can learn the names of the letters as they peruse the fascinating art, created with 3-D modeling software. (Picture book. 3-5)
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