ABC Discovery! [Hardcover]

Izhar Cohen (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

"Have you ever Beheld a Bear on a Bicycle Balancing a Bat?" Readers will find that and much more in this crazy, clever collection of amazing picture puzzles. In each inventive, full-color illustration, one for every letter of the alphabet, kids will "ABCDiscover" fun and challenges galore in this original look at letters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British first-time picture-book artist Cohen works the scavenger hunt angle in his paper-over-board abecedary, larding the pages with bait for fledgling readers. Each double spread twins a featured letter and alliterative list of objects with a witty vignette in which the objects are displayed. The cover art, dominated by a banal man-in-the-moon crescent of green cheese, doesn't suggest the inventiveness within. Cohen goes to great lengths to link the mostly disparate ingredients ("cuckoo clock, cucumber, cup") in his droll watercolors; his tableaux are the visual equivalent of nonsense verse. For the letter "H," for instance, a horse nibbles at a giant "H" being clipped from a hedge by a man with a hula hoop who perches on a hat stand, while for "V," a vacuum cleaner, violin, Viking, vulture, and so on explode out of a volcano. Cohen gets a lot of mileage out of this playful approach, and he compounds the rewards at the end, with a series of lists of such prompts as "Find someone taking a bath in a strange place" and "Where is a picture of Africa?" This nimbly executed alphabet safari will boost early literacy as well as engage the attention of more advanced readers. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-A clever, alphabet-and-puzzle book that will stimulate children's powers of observation. Each double-paged spread is devoted to one letter: the verso depicts the upper and lower case letter with a small scene that relates to it and a list of items to find on the facing page. The colorful, imaginative illustrations are surrounded by plenty of white space, creating an open effect. The book is reminiscent of a simplified Graeme Base's Animalia (Abrams, 1993) but less fantastical. An index lists all of the objects that appear throughout the book as well as a series of additional "Picture Puzzle" questions such as, "What is on a tightrope but is not a clown?" and a subsequent page of answers. From the astronaut floating on the starry "A" to the zebra pulling the zipper of the last page shut, this is an intriguing book. Although there are plenty of alphabet books in print, this one should not be missed.
Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803723210
• ISBN-13: 978-0803723214
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,922,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: ABC Discovery! (Hardcover)

This book is a cross between an "I Spy" book and an alphabet book. All my kids have enjoyed this book. It is perfect for preschool and kindergarteners who are learning the alphabet and letter sounds. The book consists of a list of words that start with each letter of the alphabet on the left page and a picture with includes those things on the right. There are some words that are new to the kids (i.e. winch) which gives them a chance to learn, but most are familiar objects which are not too difficult to locate on the adjacent page.

5.0 out of 5 stars ABC-themed picture puzzles, September 14, 2004

By 

Kara Reuter (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ABC Discovery! (Hardcover)

Izhar Cohen's ABC Discovery! is a large format (approximately 12"x9") book of picture puzzles based on the letters of the alphabet. Each letter receives a two-page spread. On the right-hand page a full-page illustration appears, while on the left a giant, artfully-drawn uppercase letter is displayed next to large upper- and lower-case letters and a list of 3-40 vocabulary words that start with that letter to be found in the drawing (along with an additional hidden upper- and lower-case version of the letter). So, the "K" vignette portrays a knight and a king wielding a knife, riding a kangaroo, holding a kettle, with a key chain in its pouch, a kitten on its head, and a koala clutching its tail. Most words are familiar objects (e.g., water, wand, whale) that are not too difficult to locate on the adjacent page, though some exotic words (e.g., ibis, Inuit) will challenge older children and expand their vocabularies. With the juxtaposition of many unrelated objects, the watercolor illustrations are appealingly crowded and surreal, forming a visual puzzle. Framed in boxed panels, items from the illustration playfully stretch outside the frame. Included at the end of the book are additional games to be played with the pictures, including finding objects that end with "t," creatures with four legs, and the object that has "blades but not for cutting"; an index to aid with the additional games as well as a list of answers are also included. Children who are accomplished readers will hone their powers of observation and expand their vocabularies.

5.0 out of 5 stars a little gem for children and parents, December 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: ABC Discovery! (Hardcover)

Dear readers,

I am really excited by the prospect of being the first "official" reviewer of a book, in this case the ABC Discovery by Izhar Cohen. However, in all fairness, I cannot claim this very special honour since the real brains behind my comments are my two children: Roberto and Francesca, respectevely 7 and 5. They loved the very imaginative illustrations as well as the formative process of discovering new images and names. On a personal note, I would like to thank the author, Mr Izhar Cohen for giving me the opportunity to spend some wonderful quality time with my children.