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A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet Review
Can you find the hidden letters? Look closely and you will see a letter C made of colorful candy, a letter H hidden in a hook, and an S in a soft shadow. From A to Z, each stunning, original work of art will stimulate the imagination and creativity of children and adults alike. User Submitted A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet ReviewsDecember 14, 2008 A is for Amazing This is an Amazing Alphabet book for All Ages - words and art come together to challenge the mind and the senses. To hold this book is to have a visual, emotional and intellectual experience. December 9, 2008 A is for awesome and amazing. I think this book is terrific. It challenges the reader whether child or adult and that's okay. If you want to spend some quality time with your child helping them learn, go for it. If you yourself learn something along the way, bonus. Take the letter E for example. Earthworm, egg, eagle, ear and exclamation point are easy but when you get to enigmatic or elongated get the dictionary. And what a great way to illustrate what the word elongated means by referencing an earthworm. When you get to the Eiffel tower show them how to find France on the map and talk about architecture. Egg and dart is an architectural term. Show them why it's called that. I am a docent at a significant art museum. You would be surprised what kids can comprehend. Kudos to Mr. Johnson for not being afraid to share complex art concepts with children. Believe me, they can handle it. I can see a grade school teacher or home school teacher using each letter as a lesson plan. This book not only illustrates art concepts and techniques but also shows how math (letter Q and G, golden ratio), science (the letter I), language skills and geography (letter E) find their way into art. November 23, 2008 A most unusual A-B-C book My son just turned 3, and he's addicted to the alphabet. He has a number of ABC books -- his favorites are Firefighters A to Z and Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! -- and I'm always looking for more to encourage his love of language. When I first got this book, I found it very appealing. Clearly an immense amount of thought and care went into creating these original images, and each one is an artwork of its own. The images represent many different techniques -- from collage to assemblage to sculpture (including inflatable sculpture!) to installations. The art touches on styles from Pop Art to abstract expressionism to graphic design. Every piece was done specifically for this book, which is a stunning feat in itself. (Technical details are given at the end of the book; I think it would've been nice, especially for the young reader, to provide more informaton on the school or style each artwork represented, and perhaps name representative artists. Some of the pieces seemed to be homages to various artists; I thought I spotted nods to Johns, Liechtenstein, Ernst and others.) Nevertheless, although I was delighted by the book, I was afraid its abstractness would turn off my toddler. After all, when you're 3, the alphabet alone is abstract enough, without adding additional puzzles to it. Nevertheless, I showed him the book. And he loved it! He enjoyed looking for the hidden letters, and found most of them (even though some of them are in neighboring artworks and I had to point him in the right direction). I don't think he paid much attention to the words, though. Random sample: "Meditation on the Memory of a Princess ~ Motionless, a man-made, monochromatic magenta mass mimics multiple mattresses and makes a massive mound near a mini mauve marble. (Look for the missing letter M in the letter R.)" I thought it was amusing, but no toddler's going to understand it. Mine seemed content to let the words wash over him as he looked for the letters. Before you buy this book, check out the sample spread Amazon has provided and think about your preferences and your toddler's. I think this would be an ideal gift for an older child -- say 8 to 12 -- who's interested in art, but it won't suit everybody. Don't let the "A B C" format fool you; some toddlers will love this book, like mine did, but it's no ordinary A-B-C. October 23, 2008 Beautiful photography, but a bit complex for younger kids My kindergarten-age son loves letters - he loves telling me which things begin with particular letters, reciting the letters of his name, and writing letters. I ordered this book for him and was really looking forward to receiving it. The book has some beautiful and clever photography, but is not really what I would consider a children's book. The photos were a bit too complex to hold the attention of younger children, as was the writing. This is something that would definitely appeal more to perhaps older kids or adults. October 19, 2008 Buy it for yourself and let the kids enjoy it too Some books are great for children and offer a little something for adults, in form of a hidden pun or innuendo. This is not one of those books. This is a book that is great for adults, in particular those with interests in art and wordplay, and can be peripherally enjoyed by children. While I doubt it will ever be as popular as an alphabet book with my young daughter as the book "Bad Kitty" is, it still has appeal in our home. "A is for Art" can be left out on the coffee table (without looking childish) for occasional perusal or as conversation starter with guests. For the kids in the family, it does have some very nice art to look at and there is a "Where's Waldo" quality with many of the images when trying to find the letter hidden in the art. It just doesn't read well as a page by page story unless you have a comprehensive vocabulary and the ability for abstract comprehension. October 16, 2008 Unique, fills a niche This is a book that I've come to like more and more as I read it. It is thoughtfully planned and written- the modern art pieces span many styles and are craftily humorous. Kids in junior-level schools will probably get the most out of it, but my kindergartener is provoked enough to dwell on some of the pieces. The letters of the alphabet are fun for kids to find, and they do serve their purpose of drawing children into the art and inviting them to explore more. October 12, 2008 This is NOT your preschoolers' alphabet book... This book is for artists and people who truly appreciate abstract art. Unless you spend a bit of time really understanding what went into the creation of each eye-catching page, you'll be through with it in a jiff and onto the next book without a backwards glance. My son was not intrigued in the least and I couldn't blame him. But going back and recognizing the scope of work that went into the representation of each letter...well, THEN it became remarkable. Seeing the 'R'(titled "Recycled")represented by a collage of Rubber bands on epoxy Resin, for instance, or the 'D' ("Dotty Diptych") illustrated by an amazing compilation of dominoes on wooden panels (80x70 inches!), is pretty impressive when you think about it. I think people who understand, first hand, how such artistic concepts are fleshed out will really enjoy this book - whether they have a child or not. They may want to use it as a coffee table book, in fact. However, I don't think the casual picture book browser will enjoy it as much. October 9, 2008 Book Looking for An Audience - a review Man, this is a hard one to review, and the principle reason is that it's ABSTRACT .AND. avant guard .AND. for kids. Now having kids, I happen to know that abstract art is not the first thing they gravitate to in either museums or books. Similarly, most youngsters I'm around aren't drawn to language like: Indoors, in an industrial interior, is an installation of individually illuminated, isolated, immobilized, immersed, inverted, identical, insoluble imitation ice cream cones. Que? No seriously. This is the paragraph that accompanies the letter I. Obviously not meant for a practice reader, is it? But given that, who "IS" the book for? Well, children that are attracted to Kandinsky come to mind. Except that some of the artwork is free-standing, like the "hordes of handmade, homogeneously hued, hollow hula hoops" in metal that look like a giant slinky. So maybe a constructionist oriented child. As a mom that's all for the stretching of small minds, I'm all for exposure to different art and verbal materials and so I plugged away with this book to see what my two picked up and learned. The result was that my children dutifully looked at the book, but they never got very interested. Maybe because while the language resonates upon being spoken, it doesn't resonate with any meaning. Because my children aren't the 'end all' of child audiences, I loaned this book to my son's kindergarten teacher from last year, to see what her class thought, and they had much the same reaction: unenthusiastic Therefore, I can only give this book a low middlin' rating and suggest that perhaps art teachers might use it with much older students than the one's I tried it out with. Definitely this one will be a hit-or-miss type of purchase. October 7, 2008 Disappointing I was excited to get this book, but find it somewhat disappointing. It is clever, artistic, and colorful, but frustrating at times, especially for children. My kids were especially confused and frustrated when the page they were looking at didn't even contain the hidden letter they were looking for. Example - the page for the letter M shows a room with a bunch of large pink plastic inflatable mattresses stacked on top of each other (eluding to the princess and the pea), but you actually find the letter M on the page for the letter R. My kids wondered WHY? I have to ask the same question. Makes no sense, especially to kids. Similar frustration with the letter F, where you see a pink background with a lot of french fries, but you are instructed to look for the letter F on the previous page (the page for letter E). Too hard to hide some letter F's in the french fries? I think not. Same issue with the letter O (look for it in the picture for the letter N). I do appreciate abstract art, and I do find this book to be interesting, but for kids, it misses the mark. My kids didn't like it much at all. I liked it more than they did, but I'm not the target audience, either. October 4, 2008 Kids and adults alike will love this book This is just a broad spectrum book. Kids will enjoy the game of finding the letters, and, I have to admit, as an adult I DID enjoy looking for the letters as well. Don't tell anyone. And, the artwork is creative and captivating. Everyday objects are given a new assignments in life in this book. I'll try not to be a spoiler, I've probably given away too much information already. I must have already read this book at least three times, AND, have looked through it another 20 times. It just doesn't get boring. Each glance offers a new perspective. (yes, I'm the type to stand back, look up close, and tip the book on its side, just to see each piece from a different view!) And, each letter is dedicated its own paragraph, and even every word in the paragraph is dedicated to that letter. Amazing A+ Awesome Artwork (OK, the authors choice is SO much more captivating than my choice of words) From the coffee table to the youngsters bedtime collection to your own nightstand of goodies, this book fits the bill. For more A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet reviews click here.
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