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The Dangerous Alphabet (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Gris Grimly (Illustrator)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—A sophisticated, interactive alphabet tale in which even the letters break the expected pattern. Thirteen rhyming couplets spin the story of two siblings and their pet gazelle who sneak past their father, board a small boat, and follow a stream into a mysterious underworld to search for a treasure. Skillful narrative and visual storytelling combine to present a complex adventure that unravels through multilayered text and illustrations, challenging readers to ponder the numerous levels of plot. When the sister is tempted ashore by villains holding candy and captured, her brother follows in hot pursuit, rushing through a labyrinth realm filled with pirates, monsters, trolls, and other fearsome creatures. Youngsters can mull over questions about the nature of the treasure seeking (the cache turns out to be pretty unappealing) and why W precedes V in the alphabet sequence ("warnings" before "vile deeds"). The gothic illustrations, done in sepia tones and faded color washes, ensure that readers remain riveted throughout the story, since there are spine-chilling details at every turn. Images of objects beginning with the letter featured on the page add to the fun. This is the right book for those who find satisfaction and pleasure in creepy and sinister tales.—Susannah Richards, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist

Our journey begins on the title page, as two Victorian children and pet gazelle slip away from their father, treasure map in hand, and embark on an alphabetical path through a sewer populated with every sort of ghoul, only to emerge safe at home at the end. Following the “A is for … ” format, Gaiman’s text takes the form of 13 tight, evocative rhyming couplets, hand-lettered by Grimley. Page turns divide each couplet, moving the action forward and building the sense of mystery. The illustrations do double duty, telling the children’s story and filling each letter’s page with suitably ghastly, nominal matter. There’s some disturbing stuff on display (the sewer walls are lined with children bound in chains, straitjackets, and rusty manacles), but the character of the pictures, spiky and knobby and childlike, and a palette of beiges accented by muted pastels, mitigates the creepiness. In the end, Gaiman and Grimley have combined forces to produce an acrid, gothic confection that bubbles with vitriol and wit. Grades 1-4. --Thom Barthelmess

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 4-8
  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins (April 29, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060783338
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060783334
  • Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #12 in  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( G ) > Gaiman, Neil
    #40 in  Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Children's Comics

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Neil Gaiman
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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Macabre and wonderful, but scary for young children, May 10, 2008
Let me start by saying that I'm not sure I like this book. No, I like it. But my daughter doesn't. And she's the target age. Dangerous Alphabet is one of those hybrid books which are written for children, but which have a much older, more sardonic sense of humour in mind. Gaiman, a master of macabre, specialises in this. So while my five year old made me stop reading because she was "already getting nightmares and she hadn't even gone to bed yet", my ten year old absolutely loved it and kept trying to read it to his younger sister, despite her attempts to get him to stop and take that "horrible book away."

If you buy it for a child that is of picture book age, you may well have a similar scenario. This is, as the title suggests, an alphabet book. But forget about sweet glittery things. A may be for "always", but the youngsters that enter this sewer of horrors soon discover that "E's for the evil that lures and entices", and "F is for Fear and its many devices". There are muffled screams, pies cooked with human looking bones, chained up children, piracy, skulls, vile deeds, and lots of monsters. In short, as is his wont, Gaiman has tapped into the psyche to produce a terrifying trip through an amusement park horror show.

It's also extremely funny, in a black, gruesome way. Older children will love it. There is a little mix-up on the alphabet which children will feel good pointing out, and even a kind of happy ending as the boat comes through the tunnel to the letter Z, though I struggled to convince my daughter of that. The watercolour and ink illustrations are superb - incredibly detailed, with nightmarishly surreal imagery on every page. You might not want your child to look too closely though, as every element, from the chains on the author, the organs in jars, or the maggoty meat on a plate, comes straight from the deepest, most terrified parts of the human psyche. The humour (such as finding two well dressed lovebirds in a boat next to a monster--crossed tunnel-lines perhaps) requires an older perspective to appreciate.

So, while I enjoyed this book for its originality, its anti-cuteness, the amazing detail and intensity of its horror, and the depth and cleverness of its naughty humour, I'm not sure I'd recommend that you buy it for your five year old daughter or niece. Squeamish parents probably won't appreciate it. But ten year old boys will, definitely.

-- Magdalena Ball is the author of Sleep Before Evening
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A is for Always, May 10, 2008
Oh this is so good.
Its written the way that nightmares are supposed to be recorded. I mean-its an alphabet book for someone who is well aware of how the alphabet works. Its reminiscent of 'The Gashlycrumb Tinies' but this is creative and new in is own right. And none of the characters die.
You could almost expect to see this organized as poetry -although the illustrations really bring the language to life. very compatible-Gaiman and Grimly.
My favorite page is 'B is for Boat, pushing off in the dark'(the barbed wire and the vulture and the sense that these awful things are preferable to drifting into the darkness).
You kind of get lost in the story...Made aware that the author is no longer Neil Gaiman but a tree monster with sprawling roots and draped in a chains ('I am the author who scratches these rhymes')
This is taunting and relentless-unlike many "scary" books for children these days; this one does not bring comfort in the end...maybe indifference...definetely not comfort.
This is a little grim. But it is so fun.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Edward Gorey-ish, June 6, 2008
This is a dangerous journey through a dangerous series of letters in more or less the established order - wonderfully creepy illustrations. I don't have kids myself, but I doubt it should be used to actually teach little ones the alphabet - unless you are the Addams family.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars dark and loverly but not for little kids!
I was surprised to see this book in the children's picture book section at Barnes and Noble. Amazon has it appropriately under the category for ages 9-12. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Yumi

5.0 out of 5 stars anderson
I like alphabet books and this one is unique. It is very silly and that is just OK.
Published 4 months ago by S. ANDERSON

5.0 out of 5 stars Teach Your Children to Fear the Alphabet. Or Love it. One of those Two Emotions.
For my young niece's (she is four now, and proud of it) birthday, I decided that what she truly needed in her life was an Alphabet Book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by P. Poppleton

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful for young and old.
I bought this book for my wife and I to read to our four year old.
She Loves it as much as we do. Read more
Published 6 months ago by JQ Tusker

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dangerous Alphabet - Awesome!
The Dangerous Alphabet can be read again and again and again. The pictures are so cool. There is so much to see on one page of the book. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Susan P. Harrington

4.0 out of 5 stars Best for Halloween
The Dangerous Alphabet, according to the book jacket, is intended for kids aged 5 and up. I read the book to a small group of boys ranging from age 7 through 14. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Gayle H. Christensen

3.0 out of 5 stars Grimly's Okay but the Poem is Poor
This slim picture book features at least 26 ghoulish pictures by illustrator "Gris Grimly". Each picture corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, and some fun can be had scanning... Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Whelan

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Alternative to Saccharine Sweet Alphabets, but Very Dark
I have always enjoyed both the works of Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly. I thought this would be a delightful read for my son, as many books for his age range are so saccharine sweet... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Z. Chen

5.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as "Gashlycrumb Tinies"
I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman, I've got a weakness for nasty alphabets, and I love a good picture book, so I didn't hesitate to buy this as soon as I heard about it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Fiona Hanington

3.0 out of 5 stars A little more advanced
Although I think that my granddaughter will enjoy this later it is more advanced than I originally thought. Still it is a novel approach.
Published 11 months ago by KT of MO

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