Customer Reviews

A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My kids, aged six and under, love this book. We take our time reading it so they can spot all the hidden letters and try to figure out the art. Because the works depicted are so different, so full of colors, and so much fun to look at the kids enjoy it every time the open it. While the typical alphabet book usually bores both adults and kids, A is For Art is the opposite of boring.

Indeed, each time I look at a page, I notice something new somewhere and so do my kids. The text, too, is well done. By the end of each paragraph there will be no way your child will not know the sound the illustrated letter makes. While this book is a far cry from a classically illustrated children's book it is just the antidote for the routine.

This book is for artists and people who truly appreciate abstract art. Unless you spend a bit of time really understanding what went into the creation of each eye-catching page, you'll be through with it in a jiff and onto the next book without a backwards glance.

My son was not intrigued in the least and I couldn't blame him. But going back and recognizing the scope of work that went into the representation of each letter...well, THEN it became remarkable. Seeing the 'R'(titled "Recycled")represented by a collage of Rubber bands on epoxy Resin, for instance, or the 'D' ("Dotty Diptych") illustrated by an amazing compilation of dominoes on wooden panels (80x70 inches!), is pretty impressive when you think about it. I think people who understand, first hand, how such artistic concepts are fleshed out will really enjoy this book - whether they have a child or not. They may want to use it as a coffee table book, in fact. However, I don't think the casual picture book browser will enjoy it as much.

This is one crazy book. It is obvious a lot of thought and work went into making it, but I'm not sure if it's a children's book. If you ever saw an I Spy book, this is something like it in the sense the author encourages the viewer to find hidden letters in the original works of art used for each letter of the alphabet. This is the only reason my 6 and 7 year olds were interested in the book. Many of the words used, however, are of a high reading level. For each letter, a picture of a work of art is used to tie in with words that mostly start with the letter in question. Some of the words describe what you are looking at in a conceptual way ("graduations of green, gray and gold....") while others simply tell you what to look for ("Pancakes. Potato chips. Pencils....."). After reading some of the text, I asked my kids if they knew what I said. They plainly stated "no." Here are some examples: ".....monochromatic magenta mass mimics...." "A visually vertiginous vocalise." "...quartered by quadrants, with quadrilaterals...." I thought maybe, since my kids are really into art, they would be interested in the artwork itself (there's also a detailed description of each piece of work at the end of the book), but they weren't. So, if your kids are into learning the meaning of higher level words, this might be a way to expose them to it. If your kids are into art, maybe this book is a good way to expose them to it (the artwork used is based in many different mediums). Otherwise, it's a high end I Spy book.

I think this book is terrific. It challenges the reader whether child or adult and that's okay. If you want to spend some quality time with your child helping them learn, go for it. If you yourself learn something along the way, bonus. Take the letter E for example. Earthworm, egg, eagle, ear and exclamation point are easy but when you get to enigmatic or elongated get the dictionary. And what a great way to illustrate what the word elongated means by referencing an earthworm. When you get to the Eiffel tower show them how to find France on the map and talk about architecture. Egg and dart is an architectural term. Show them why it's called that.

I am a docent at a significant art museum. You would be surprised what kids can comprehend. Kudos to Mr. Johnson for not being afraid to share complex art concepts with children. Believe me, they can handle it. I can see a grade school teacher or home school teacher using each letter as a lesson plan. This book not only illustrates art concepts and techniques but also shows how math (letter Q and G, golden ratio), science (the letter I), language skills and geography (letter E) find their way into art.

My son just turned 3, and he's addicted to the alphabet. He has a number of ABC books -- his favorites are Firefighters A to Z and Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! -- and I'm always looking for more to encourage his love of language.

When I first got this book, I found it very appealing. Clearly an immense amount of thought and care went into creating these original images, and each one is an artwork of its own. The images represent many different techniques -- from collage to assemblage to sculpture (including inflatable sculpture!) to installations. The art touches on styles from Pop Art to abstract expressionism to graphic design. Every piece was done specifically for this book, which is a stunning feat in itself. (Technical details are given at the end of the book; I think it would've been nice, especially for the young reader, to provide more informaton on the school or style each artwork represented, and perhaps name representative artists. Some of the pieces seemed to be homages to various artists; I thought I spotted nods to Johns, Liechtenstein, Ernst and others.)

Nevertheless, although I was delighted by the book, I was afraid its abstractness would turn off my toddler. After all, when you're 3, the alphabet alone is abstract enough, without adding additional puzzles to it. Nevertheless, I showed him the book. And he loved it! He enjoyed looking for the hidden letters, and found most of them (even though some of them are in neighboring artworks and I had to point him in the right direction).

I don't think he paid much attention to the words, though. Random sample: "Meditation on the Memory of a Princess ~ Motionless, a man-made, monochromatic magenta mass mimics multiple mattresses and makes a massive mound near a mini mauve marble. (Look for the missing letter M in the letter R.)" I thought it was amusing, but no toddler's going to understand it. Mine seemed content to let the words wash over him as he looked for the letters.

Before you buy this book, check out the sample spread Amazon has provided and think about your preferences and your toddler's. I think this would be an ideal gift for an older child -- say 8 to 12 -- who's interested in art, but it won't suit everybody. Don't let the "A B C" format fool you; some toddlers will love this book, like mine did, but it's no ordinary A-B-C.

In this charming book author/illustrator Stephen T. Johnson devises an alphabet book that is simultaneously an overview of major developments in modern art, description of the art using using alliteration, and hidden letter game (each art piece has a hidden letter). His art work is quite good with only a few missteps where the work looks a bit contrived (modern art probably isn't as easy as it looks).

My only concern is if children in the age category that would read an alphabet book will be interested in modern art. My guess is that some kids just won't get it. But for those who might this will be a great addition to their library.

Caldecott-honored artist/author Johnson puts together a whimsical but thought-provoking romp through the alphabet using various pieces of abstract and minimalist art, including paintings, sculptures, installations, and mixed media examples. For instance, the letter F is represented by Fast Food Frenzy, a flurry of fake french fries on a fuchsia background, while the letter M is represented by Meditation on the Memory of a Princess, a stack of inflated magenta mattresses.
One of the puzzling aspects of A is for Art is the lack of direct artistic attribution to the individual works. While Johnson is credited with each and every piece, he thanks a lot of people for their contributions; it would have been nice to know who assisted in "making (his) vision a reality" on an individual artistic level.
But this is a relatively minor consideration when a five year-old, such as my daughter, first sees the book and pores over its pages proudly pointing out the letters she is learning in school, and asking daddy or mommy to read what the picture is about. As an undergrad art major, I was very happy to see art "work" at this level. For this, Johnson's alphabet art book is a success.

"A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet" is a good title for this book. It is not a simple alphabet book. It stimulates the reader/viewer to think, think, and think some more. An incredible amount of thought went into it, too.

The Acknowledgements page gives an idea of how tremendously much work went into this book. So does the Index of the sizes, materials and locations of letters. It is a marvel, truly.

I went through the book carefully, and found it great therapy. I nearly died from bacterial spinal meningitis, and mental therapy is something I seek. This book was just the thing. I read it page by page, studied the beautiful photographs, and worked out every part.

I don't know whether a 4-year-old child would get much from this book at first, but he or she would love the pictures. For going deeper, the companionship of someone more mature would be wonderful. And that is a great way for children to experience books.

A is for Art in this abstract alphabet book. It is a journey. I'm sure I will spend more time with it!

In all fairness, it probably deserves all 5, but I'm not a great modern art lover. In principle modern art is interesting to me, but in practice it usually turns me off. So with that bias in mind, here is my review:

This is not really a children's alphabet book, rather its an art book. Each letter of the alphabet inspires a vocabulary which inspires a work of art. The result is provocative. The book certainly could be used in a number of ways with children: Vocabulary development, inspiration for art children's art projects, discussions about "what is art", poetry, finding the letter each piece of art is a mental exercise as is also finding how each word representing that letter. I will certainly use the book in homeschooling my child. Excellent for intellectual development. I apologize for being so philistine as to think its a bit ugly (BTW the ancient Philistines were actually a highly cultured people).

My nearly-4 year old son knows his letters very well and likes books where he can look for hidden objects, so I thought this might be an interesting addition to our library. This is far from your standard alphabet book. The pictures are wonderful -- very bright and artistic. But, this book is too complicated for little ones. The pictures and letter depictions are in some cases very abstract. And, in at least one case, the letters are so tiny I almost need a magnifying class to see them. Thankfully, there is an index in the back that shows where the hidden letters are -- I needed to consult it at times. Also, the text describing each photo is very complicated for young readers. Despite these limitations, my son has been fascinated with the pictures and wanted to read it several times today. I would not recommended this for young children, but it might be great for older children or for adults.