C D B! (Paperback)

by William Steig (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
William Steig--The New Yorker cartoonist and revered creator of the Caldecott Medalist Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island, and dozens of other magnificent books--first wrote and illustrated the original, black-and-white edition of CDB! more than 30 years ago. Adding splashes of watercolor on larger, broader pages (and an answer key in the back!), Steig brings new life to his well-loved favorite. For the uninitiated, "C D B!" translates to "See the bee!" Other letter codes are more challenging, such as the boy leaning on a tree saying "I F-N N-E N-R-G" or a droopy decrepit man slouching in a chair labeled "O-L H." Once you get used to this abbreviated Steig-speak, all (or at least most) will become clear--"X" sometimes means "eggs," "D" is sometimes "the," and "S" can be "is" or "has," for example. Or, you can just read the letters out loud over and over until the proper phrase emerges plain as day. (The pictures help, too, of course!) Those who crave more wordplay will want to explore CDC? This book is nothing less than X-L-N, and no home where words are celebrated should be without it. (Ages 5 to 105) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
The drawings are now in color, the pages are larger, and the once yellow background on the jacket is now sleek white, but the appeal of Steig's wordplay classic, first published 30 years ago, remains intact. The book's clever humor is still irresistible: "I M A U-M B-N," a boy patiently explains to his attentive dog. "U R N N-M-L." New generations will delight in puzzling out the letter-and-number messages, aided by the simple, thickly outlined drawings and an answer key. A worthy replacement for collections' battered original copies. Gillian Engberg --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (April 2, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671666894
• ISBN-13: 978-0671666897
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #389,986 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #31 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Steig, William
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cute!, October 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: C D B! (Turtleback)

this book is just adorable...C D B? D B S A B-Z B. (see the bee? the bee is a busy bee.) and so forth and so on...just great!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading Fest 2000, March 24, 2000

By	Mrs. Limberakis and Students (Pleasant Ridge Elementary School, Saline, Michigan) - See all my reviews

Using letters, numbers, and simple pictures, this book can be fun for all ages! This year our school had a reading fest and this was one of the books. We made up and illustrated our own sayings. It was hard at first and then we got the hang of it. It was our favorite book of the day!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Fun!, June 28, 2001

By	Amy "hmmyum" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cdb! (Hardcover)

I used this book in an elementary classroom. When the children came in each morning, they would look at the board to get the day's riddle. They had fun and I got a couple of minutes of peace in the mornings. They felt SO SMART when they solved each one. They even started to make up their own riddles to put on the board and got such a kick out of letting their classmates in on the answers.