The Alphabet from A to Y, with Bonus Letter Z - Steve Martin
Wild and crazy alphabet humor best for older kids.
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- Author:Steve Martin
- # of pages: 64
- Publisher:Flying Dolphin Press
- Original Publication Date: 10/23/2007
- Genre: Non-Fiction - Alphabet
- Hardcover: $17.95
- Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 4-8
- Read Aloud: 4
- Read Alone: 8
Parents need to know
Families can talk about the hidden references to words beginning with a, b, c, and so on, in the illustrations. Can you find each one, and do you learn anything new from them?
Message
Social Behavior:
Some gentle name calling but most is pure silliness; reference to hunchbacks on the H page is the most offensive. Also, Clarissa is clunky, David is dog-faced, Jason is jerky, and N is filled with nerds, nitwits and nincompoops.
Consumerism:
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
A cartoon drunk staggers on the D page, Tough Tommy smokes a cigar, wine is being served on the W page.
Violence
Sex
Language
On the P page, Pedro the puppy piled poop on his paws; On L, long Louie is called "Lowlife" and accused of telling a "lousy lie."
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Patricia Tauzer
Is it any good?
The cover, with its small details and intriguing title, is captivating. The inner covers are full of letter-based symbols chatting in cartoon fashion about their special skills and talents. And, from that point on, the silliness just grows! Letters from A to Y, and including the bonus z, are presented in unusual and playful illustrations that are sure to entertain all ages.
The alliterative couplets that play on presented sounds are weird and crazy, and Steve Martin fans will hear his voice in the writing. From "Amiable Amy, Alice, and Andie" and "Bad Baby Bubbleducks" to "Yuri the yeti" and "Zany Zeno," the names of the characters as well as their scenarios reverberate with his off-the-wall humor. The illustrations drawn by Roz Chast are just as imaginative, and readers familiar with The New Yorker magazine will recognize the jittery lines of her intricately comic drawings. Here they fit perfectly with Martin's tone, and make this a book well worth checking out.
Other choices
Alphabet Books for Younger Kids:
Animalia by Graeme Base
Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
ABC T-Rex by Bernard Most
Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss
Parents and kids say



