A Farmer's Alphabet [Hardcover]

Mary Azarian (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2005 | Age Level: 4 and up

Before she became a Caldecott medalist, Mary Azarian was a teacher in one of Vermont s last one-room schoolhouses. In the late 1970s, the state board of education commissioned her to create a farmer s alphabet, a series of bold red-and-black woodcut prints featuring the 26 letters, A to Z, and depicting scenes from Vermont life. Now gathered in book form, printed in two colors on beautiful paper, these striking woodcuts give us a child s-eye view of rural New England from Apple, Barn, and Cow to aX, Yawn, and Zinnia a homey, large-as-life world that readers of every age will want to inhabit. No M for McDonalds in Azarian's world: only Maple Sugar.
One of our most popular titles, the striking woodcuts of this big, bold alphabet book, printed in two colors on beautiful paper, are a felicitous introduction to letters as well as to the charms of simple country life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Vermont Board of Education commissioned Azarian to depict the 26 letters of the alphabet in illustrations depicting scenes little scholars would find familiar. In book form, the work is virtually a guaranteed success, for the artist is a brilliant full-time printmaker who has endowed these rural scenes with wit, dignity and imagination. Both the capitals and lowercase letters appear in words "Apple" through "Zinnia," each tuned to doings in the country throughout the year. No matter where children live -- on a farm, in the suburbs, or the city -- they will love this handsome book, and so will adult connoisseurs of woodcuts as an art.

About the Author

Mary Azarian grew up on a small farm in Virginia, where she had horses, rabbits and chickens. After graduating from Smith College, where she studied printmaking with Leonard Baskin, she married and moved to a farm in northern Vermont. There she taught for four years in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in the state. She has been a full-time printmaker since 1969. Her other books include The Tale of John Barleycorn, The Man Who Lived Alone, and the Caldecott Medal winning Snowflake Bentley.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (October 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087923394X
• ISBN-13: 978-0879233945
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,767 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

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High quality book, great for teaching the alphabet to childr, December 27, 2000

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Farmer's Alphabet (Paperback)

Wow! This book is great! Mary Azarian's wonderful black ink woodcut illustrations of life on a typical Vermont farm. Book is large and is taller than the regular hardcover book. One illustration per page with the opposite page blank. Paper is very heavy stock in an ecru color with a texture to the paper (not your regular paper or cheap paper). Both upper case and lower case letters appear at the top left corner of the illustration, about 2 inches high, which is wonderful for teaching the letters of the alphabet. The word is spelled out at the bottom of the illustration with the first letter capital and the others lower case. Examples are: Jump (in the haystack), Lamb, Pumpkin, Rocker, Stove, and Zinnia. Simple farm life is shown and the illustrations are just great! Words are simple and easily understood by the young child who is learning to read. Illustrations are so fun and large that even a toddler who is interested in farm life would enjoy them. The parent can also make up a little story about what is going on in the picture if desired because there is enough going on and/or enough to describe a little ditty about the illustration. For example: the farmer and his wife are picking apples from the apple tree at harvest time, and placing them in the basket. Maybe they will make an apple pie or cider with the apples..... (you get the idea).

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, November 27, 2009

By 

Christy Evans - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Farmer's Alphabet (Hardcover)

We bought this for our daughter's Kindergarten class. The children enjoy this book year after year.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful alphabet, September 12, 2000

By 

"forestsprite" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Farmer's Alphabet (Hardcover)

This book is a beautifully rendered alphabet. The woodcut technique and style are very serene and beautiful to look upon. Mary Azarian has a great talent of which everyone should be aware.