From Publishers Weekly
Witty wordplay is the centerpiece of a rhyming caper that gives a fond nod to William Steig's C D B! Involving a search for buried treasure conducted by the letters of the alphabet, the story line takes a back seat to nonstop, laugh-out-loud punning and Chesworth's (Archibald Frisby) clever integration of language and art. One morning, the letter "i," while sipping "t" with "sweet Mellow D," hears of buried treasure on a faraway island. He builds a ship ("The Alphaboat must have a crew!/ i, m coming, u, r, too"), and the aforementioned lowercase letters board the vessel preceded by fancy capitals T, C and A ("So everybody knows his place/ the officers are uppercase"). Each page overflows with jokes, ranging from groaners to the sneakily subtle. The sailors squabble as they disembark, "Hey! i before e!" "Except after C"; foul weather is described as a "nasty scrawl" and rendered as a sepia cloud of illegible script ("A cursive storm," wails a passenger via a voice bubble). With a restrained pen and watercolors in natural, muted tones, Chesworth effectively juxtaposes an 18th-century nautical ambience with comical, pun-infused caricatures. This brain-teasing voyage through the alphabet should tickle the newly literate and old salts as well. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Right from the copyright page ("I dedicate this book to u"), readers will know that they are in for an outrageous adventure as the crew of the Alphaboat sets sail to find a buried treasure. Chesworth's rhymed voyage is chock-full of visual and verbal puns and wordplay that will delight savvy readers. Reminiscent of William Steig's C D B! (S & S, 2000), this book features a full-blown story as the letters go about gathering a crew, ship building, sailing, fighting storms ("a nasty scrawl"), and digging up buried treasure (a dictionary with "`gold' and `silver,' `jewels' and `loot,' and other precious words, to boot"). They sail home around the "Isle of Write," "Pencilvania," "Sands Serif," and "Exclamation Point," and return at the "n" to celebrate their success (which deserves an "apos-trophy"). The "N R G" of the text and the "e's" with which the author/illustrator uses rhymes contribute to the bouncing cadence of the story. The cartoon illustrations will captivate kids as they try to solve the wordplay puzzles in every scene. Each full-color watercolor-and-ink illustration is framed within neat black borders and extends the text with a wealth of visual jokes, hints, and goofy asides. The sophistication of some of the humor may challenge some children, but the abundance of accessible puns will have them examining this literary "I Spy" book to uncover yet another jaunty groaner.
Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WICopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
