Customer Reviews

Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

The board book verisions of Dr. Suess and other books from the beginning reader series are terrible abridged and watered down versions of the originals. Most of the fun of the rhymes is lost. They even changed some of the letters completely (including the pictures.) With as many as four letters of the alphabet crowded on a single page, it is too much and too detailed for an infant or toddler to focus on. Get the original and don't worry about a few ripped pages.

The original book is great, but this edition has been butchered beyond belief. All the original pictures have been preserved, but the text has been chopped up to fit into the size limits of the format. For example, P: "Painting Pink Pajamas, Policeman in a a Pail. Peter Pepper's puppy. And now Papa's in the pail." becomes "Painting some pajamas pink. P...p...P." Spend the money and get the full-sized version.

My daughter has had this book since she was 6 months old (she's 15 months old now) and it is her favorite book, I have read it so many times that I have it memorized. She brings it to me to read at least 3 times a day. Her copy got so worn from all the hugs and taking it everywhere with her that I had to buy a new one. The longer version is great but board books are better when you have a small one.

Welcome to the wonderful world of whimsical, wacky writing, and crazy, colorful caricatures - "Big Q, little q what begins with Q? The quick Queen of Quincy and her quacking quacker-oo." An excellent educational tool, "Dr. Seuss's ABC An Amazing Alphabet Book!" is an inspired introduction to the alphabet, both upper and lowercase letters, and also reinforces letter sounds through alliteration. The text, format, and images have been adapted to accommodate board book standards; yet, the phrasing and prose, in this particular volume still flow. See the following excerpts:

The original -
"BIG V, little v
Vera Violet Vinn
Is very, very, very awful on her violin."

Revised edition -
"BIG V, little v, what begins with V?
Verna Vera Vin and her violet violin."

I am flabbergasted by the lack of enthusiasm for the revised board book editions of Dr. Seuss's (and others) "Beginner Books" published by Random House. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to offer my infant son a CLASSIC narrative, by means of a board book, even in its ADAPTED form. These magical miniatures are delightfully entertaining for little babies, who enjoy the positive interaction of cooperative play through reading. The objectives of these small books are to appeal to newborns, and very young children with short attention spans who are not attentive enough for the full text versions, they are NOT meant to replace the originals. Moreover, these pocketsize gems are fashioned for effortless travel to the market, on a plane, in the car, or on a train. Hee, hee.

I own most of Dr. Seuss's first editions, in addition to a few of the board book volumes, and agree that the original "Beginner Books" are just that - ORIGINAL. They are more amusing, entertaining, and educational, but are in fact more appropriate for older children, 4 years and older. I believe introducing infants to creative works, such as these, only encourages listening and learning from an earlier age. In summary, if your child is three or older purchase an original version, otherwise think of introducing your infant to the shorter, travel-anywhere format, and procure the original at a later date. The marvelous, magical magician, who was Dr. Seuss is worth it! Birth and up.

The board book is an abridged version of the original Dr. Seuss's ABC. The original is wonderful, my one-year-old's favorite book (and used to be one of mine), but the board book doesn't have the same great rhythm.

Yes, it's nice that Random House Publishing has begun publishing these books in board books. But beware. They are not the same as the original! Sentences have been taken out, the rhythm has been artificially altered, and pictures have been severely edited. Some pictures have been entered into the book that were not there before, and sentences have been changed to meet the edited pictures' contents. I think it is a travesty that youngsters and parents think they are reading the original book (nowhere on the book does it say it's been edited) when in reality it is very different from the real book. If you want your child to have a book to chew on, there are many board books out there. If you want your child to know and love Seuss, get the original. Don't take my word for it though; go to the bookstore and compare them for yourself. I assume Random House is doing this with all the books they are making into board books, but I don't know for sure. Just make sure you know you're not getting the true Seuss.

Actually, I did buy it, and was APPALLED by how horribly abridged it is. All the letters of the alphabet are rewritten into uniform, mind deadening rhythm, totally spoiling the charming surprises of the original. Buy the paper edition- maybe your kid will rip it up, but at least it's money well spent.

My only complaint with this book is that it excludes much of the original story and therefore the rhymes in the board book version are awkward. My daughter learned to recognize her abc's (at least the capital ones) from this book by 18 months. Board books are great for babies, but little kids will handle paper books just fine, particularly if they love them. As a mom & a children's librarian, I just have to say how SAD I think it is that publishers are so desperate for a buck that they'd cut a marvelous story from a genius like SEUSS down - just to get us to buy 2 versions of it!

The original Seuss ABC is a lot of fun; good rhyme and meter. This one has been horribly hacked up to fit the board book format.

For example, the original entry for X is: "X is very useful if your name is Nixie Knox. It also comes in handy spelling ax and extra fox." Silly and bouncy. The board book version says: "X-ray and xylophone."

Someone butchered Dr. Seuss's ABC's to make it fit into a board book form-factor. And I'm sure that's how they were talking about it around the marketing table. This edition of the book has all the charm and coherence of the edited versions of vintage Warner Bros' cartoons. The result is something that is more of a product than a book. If you want a Dr. Seuss book, buy the original. If you want a board book, buy something else.