Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert. Red Wagon Books, 1996. ISBN 0-15-201036-X (Board book edition).
Reader's Annotation: Caution! Do not read this book if you are hungry. Ehlert's beautifully depicted fruits and vegetables may cause you to consider gnawing on the board pages.
Summary: Ehlert presents an alphabet book for the very young, where the letters are accompanied by her trademark style of illustration: vibrantly colored watercolor collage. Some of the fruits and vegetables will be quite familiar to young and old alike, while others, such as xigua, could be a new discovery for many readers.
It would be difficult to find a more delicious introduction to the concept of the alphabet and its ordered letters.
Critical Evaluation: The oversized text of the alphabet letters and the names of the fruits and vegetables are all displayed in both upper and lowercase print. This provides the reader with the option of focusing only on the letters for the youngest child, or of including an examination of the individual names while sharing the book with a slightly older child. This multi-level design allows a child's experience with the work to expand as they develop and gain more pre-literacy skills.
Ehlert has captured the look of each type of food with her gloriously colored collage technique. While simple, the illustrations clearly demonstrate the essence of each fruit and vegetable so that they are easily recognizable.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 0 to 4
Awards: The picture book version of this title won the following awards:
Booklist Editors’ Choice, NCTE Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Language Arts, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Parenting Reading Magic Award
Why Included? The colors and textures utilized by Ehlert in her watercolors are simply beautiful and are enjoyable to examine closely.
Spring is here written and illustrated by Taro Gomi. Chronicle Books, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8118-2331-9 (board book)
Reader's Annotation: The cycle of the seasons is explored with simple text and beautifully designed illustrations which center around a calf growing up.
Summary: Gomi's story begins in spring with a new calf. As the snow melts, and plants begin to grow, the season changes to summer with green, green grass and thunderstorms. Summer turns into fall and harvest time, which leads into winter and snow. As winter fades into spring, the young calf reappears, but has changed and grown over the course of a year.
With cheerful artwork and very simple text, Gomi has captured the beauty of each of the four seasons, and has included many small details in the illustrations that are worthy of examination and discussion.
Critical Evaluation: Gomi's art can be appreciated on multiple levels. For babies who are still working on focusing and color perception, the bold swaths of highly contrasting colors will capture their attention. For toddlers, the movement depicted in the artwork as well as the vibrant coloring of the illustrations will draw them in. Additionally, the children, adults, and animals that are depicted in each two-page spread will help young readers develop a more personal connection to the passage of the seasons.
As toddlers develop into pre-schoolers, they may notice another level of possibility in the illustrations. Are all of these scenes of landscapes and individuals taking place on the back of the calf? Is that waving grass and ripening grain actually the calf's fur? Gomi encourages creative imagining with the open-ended nature of his artwork.
The pattern of cycling back to where the story began, in spring, can be very reassuring to young children, especially during repeat readings. Knowing where the story is going, and arriving at a familiar place is soothing, and can be very beneficial when incorporated into a bedtime routine.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 0 to 4
Awards: Bologna Graphic Prize Winner
Why Included? Gomi's illustrations are lovely from a graphic design perspective, and can be appreciated by people of all ages.