Matthew A.B.C. [Hardcover]

Peter Catalanotto (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Who is missing from Mrs. Tuttle's kindergarten class?

Will he fit in as well as the other 25?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What's a teacher to do when all of the students in her class have the same first name? In this offbeat alphabet book, Mrs. Tuttle has found what she believes is an easy solution. Mrs. T. distinguishes the 25 Matthews in her kindergarten by associating the first letter of each boy's last name with one of his attributes. For example, "Matthew A. is affectionate" and "Matthew G. has trouble with glue." By the penultimate page, readers have met the entire class, save for the new kid: a boy named Matthew (of course) who takes his place in the line-up right after Matthew Y. and is sporting lots of zippers. Following a fairly standard ABC-book template, each page is devoted to a letter that's featured in an upperhand corner. Throughout, Catalanotto (Emily's Art) makes a departure from his customary, portrait-flavored style and employs more playful lines and shapes in buoyantly hued watercolors. The artist's often wacky depictions of what makes each Matthew special (Matthew F. has a cat on his face; Matthew R. has freckles in the shape of a rhinoceros) offer kids plenty of laughs and, perhaps, new ways to look at their own classmates. Ages 4-6.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

reSchool-Grade 1-There are 25 Matthews in Mrs. Tuttle's class. Following the time-honored tradition, the teacher adds the first letter of their last names to identify the boys. Conveniently, each one has a different initial and a unique characteristic that helps her keep track of the right Matthew. Some letters have cozy traits (A. is affectionate); others grasp frantically for a trait (F. has a cat on his face, R. is freckled with a rhinoceros). A few letters have the dumb and dumber appeal-L. leaks (a serious runny nose is illustrated), N. is nearly naked, and X. swallowed the xylophone. When a 26th student arrives, his name is Matthew and his clothes are covered with zippers. Though there is unquestionable kid appeal in this curious concept book, caregivers may wonder about J. who works a night job and poor E. who forgets how to eat and is illustrated mashing a spoonful of food onto his forehead. The watercolor paintings are rendered with a full brush and or many layers of color with some pages appearing a bit muddy. There are touches of wit to amuse the observant-C.'s friendly cowlick spells "hello," "enjoy," "oh my," "sshhh," "lovely," and "welcome"; B. is covered head to toe in Band-Aids. There are many wonderful alphabet books out there, but Catalanotto's fans and those with a soft spot in their hearts for the quirky will want to add Matthew A.B.C.
Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689845820
• ISBN-13: 978-0689845826
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #932,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the little Matthew in your life, November 8, 2002

By 

christina (plano, tx United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matthew A.B.C. (Hardcover)

This is a story about a teacher with 25 Matthews in her class. Some of our favorites are Matthew C. who has cowlicks(look for the words his cowlicks form throughout the book),Matthew H. appears to be headless (ever know a boy who pulls his shirt over his head), and Matthew K. is unusually fond of ketchup (He dresses like a ketchup bottle). Matthew Z. (dressed in zippers) transfers into her class at the end of the book. I puchased this book after reading a rave review in the chicago trib. I looked in every bookstore I could find before finding it cheeper at amazon. This is a wonderful book for any child preschool thru 1st grade. My 5 year old has it memorized! I sent it to school with him and the teacher just loved it, we are going to order an extra one to donate to his class.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative Alphabet Fun....., October 5, 2002

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matthew A.B.C. (Hardcover)

"Mrs. Tuttle has 25 children in her class. They are all named Matthew. Principal Nozzet wonders how Mrs. Tuttle tells them apart. She finds it quite simple..." Starting with the letter A, meet each Matthew, and find out what's special about him. For example, Matthew A is extremely affectionate, Matthew B loves Band-Aids, Matthew C has cowlicks, and so on, letter by letter, through the alphabet. Peter Catalanotto's easy to read, spare text is complemented with clever, bold and bright illustrations, filled with eye-catching detail and humor. Matthew G has trouble with glue, and Mr Catalanotto shows him stuck to his chair and covered with school supplies. Matthew I is incognito, wearing a fedora and fake glasses, nose, and mustache. And Matthew R, my personal favorite, is freckled with a rhinoceros, and if kids look closely they'll see the outline of a freckle-made rhino, horn and all, on Matthew R's face. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Matthew A.B.C. is a creative and imaginative learning tool that both engages and entertains. As classmate number 25, Matthew Y, yodels, Principal Nozzet brings a new student in to join the class. Can you guess his name? Here's a hint, he's covered in zippers!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come on in. We need a Z., November 28, 2007

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Matthew A.B.C. (Paperback)

Poor Mrs. Tuttle. She has 25 students in her class and all 25 are named Matthew! As a children's librarian, I want my students to ask questions. They ask how 25 Matthews can end up in the same class and say they don't believe it. That's when I spring the news: Illustrators can do what they want in their books! You can watch their puzzled faces then see the light. Oh, yeah, it's the illustrator's book. Then I say, Let's find out why he has 25 Matthews.

So what does Mrs. Tuttle do? Illustrator/writer Peter Catalanotto has Mrs. Tuttle make an alphabet game out of it. Fancy this: All the Matthews have last names, each with a different letter of the alphabet. In reality, students who are reading or listening to the story learn, not only the alphabet, but words that match the action. For example, Matthew A is Affectionate with the picture showing him hugging the teacher. Matthew C has a friendly cowlick, showing the boy's hair spelling words through the use of gel. In fact, his top-knot spells "cowlick." Matthew R "is freckled with a rhinoceros." Sure enough, there is a rhino across his face--in freckles!

How do first-graders like this book? One little boy who never smiles and always seems too timid to even look at anyone, laughed out loud and got up on his knees. If you know body language, you know he just joined in. (I have asked his teacher about him and learned he participates in her class. She thinks he may be shy around me. I was thrilled I found a story that caused a reaction from him.)

Matthew I likes to go Incognito. Students are so quick to make life applications. I explained that if a famous person did not want to be bothered at the grocery store, they wore sunglasses and a hat. They immediately began telling me specific stories about famous people dressed incognito. At the end of the story the principal brings in a new student--you guessed it--Matthew, number 26, whose last name starts with, again you guessed it, Z. Know what he was wearing? Yes, meet Matthew Zipper.

What a fun book that teaches alphabet, then vocabulary. We all love it! I think your children will, too!