The Alphazeds [Hardcover]

Shirley Glaser (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Milton Glaser, the founder of New York magazine, and the creator of the globally recognized I § NY logo, is beloved by art aficionados and design enthusiasts the world over. In this beautifully designed, enchanting book for children of all ages, Milton and Shirley Glaser team up to reintroduce readers to the alphabet. The Alphazeds begins with an empty room, which begins filling up with some extraordinary-looking letters. As each letter appears on the scene, it boldly announces its personality: A is angry all the time; B couldn't be more bashful; and K comes in kicking everyone else out of the way. Will the rambunctious letters ever be able to coexist long enough to work together? Charming and utterly original, The Alphazeds cleverly teaches the alphabet and new words to children, while also introducing them to the art of typography in a fresh and enjoyable way.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3--One by one, the letters of the alphabet enter a "big empty yellow room." From "Angry A" to "Zigzag Z," each one is described by an alliterative adjective. Eventually, the space is stuffed with a haphazard horde of loudmouthed letters, and dialogue balloons show their obnoxious comments. Finally, "The noise was terrible. Everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs. Nobody cared about anyone else. They were pushing and shoving and hitting and kicking. It was a disaster…." (The grammar here is a definite disaster.) Then the lone light bulb goes out and a vague voice says, "Let there be light." By the time it is restored, four letters have joined together, and the pretentious text reads, "In the beginning there was the WORD." After this faux finale, Glaser offers a cloying cast list with exasperating entries such as "Yelling Y was last year's youngest Grammy winner for his yodeling version of 'Yesterday.' This Yankee from Yonkers is a graduate of Yale." Underneath, another alphabet introduces a variety of typefaces. This befuddling book is more appropriate for graphics-obsessed grown-ups than for children. Bill Martin, Jr.'s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (S & S, 1989) offers more bang for the buck.--Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786808659
• ISBN-13: 978-0786808656
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Letters With An Attitude and Then They Learn to Talk, August 31, 2003

By 

DeeDee Currier "drd2c2" (MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Alphazeds (Hardcover)

Alphabet books come in all forms -- just the letters, letters introducing sounds, letters introducing beginning words, and then, letters telling a story.

This book is a story, complete with an attitude. There's Quaking Q, Bashful B, and Pretentious P. They all strut into the small empty yellow room with a single light bulb. Then, as if they are living in New York City (where the authors live), there is a blackout. "When the light came back on, something extraordinary had happened." Find out what that was.

Any elementary principal, kindergarten, or first grade teacher needs to read this to their children. Any parent or grandparent of the 7 or under set needs to give it as a birthday or holiday present.

Thanks to the Glasers for a wonderful addition to the alphabet book world.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for young children who like words, July 12, 2004

By 

A. Sloo "Librarian" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Alphazeds (Hardcover)

I have to disagree strongly with the Library School Journal review for this book (above), which says that the book is more appropriate for "graphics-obsessed adults" than for children. When we first saw this book, my son (age 3.5 at the time) insisted that I read it to him three times. It's not an appropriate book for LEARNING the alphabet, but any young child (ages 3-6?) who loves language will love the alliteration and, perhaps even more importantly for this age group, learn a lot of new words to discuss feelings in a fun way.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your ordinary alphabet book, May 7, 2005

By 

Shannon "jfaction" (Lafayette, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Alphazeds (Hardcover)

Most alphabet books use items for examples of the letters - A is usually apple, X is always x-ray or xylophone. This book uses adjectives. I have 4 children between 8 and 1; rarely do they all sit and read the same book with me and the older ones especially find typical alphabet books marginally interesting. All of them were riveted to this book. It's a wonderful concept, to base the letters on adjectives. The younger kids enjoyed learning the letters, the older ones tuned in to the meanings of the adjectives and enjoyed the humor that accompanied it. Pretentious P speaks French and Jealous J pines after the other letters' attributes, for example.

It is a wonderful way to build upon basic alphabet knowledge and begin learning nuances of descriptive words such as dynamic, mighty, vain, and towering.