Dangerous Alphabet is an "A-is-for..." Alphabet book with a picture-driven plot and the text written in verse.

The poem itself is adequate but the illustrations are where the books shine, being interesting and crammed with detail, yet probably too detailed, subtle, and dark for many children. There's so much going on it might be hard to focus. As mentioned - despite very much being a children's book - it is dark and creepy, and should probably only be purchased for children with a taste for the macabre.
For most of the letters there are related animals, objects, and small details (such as llamas for L, and apples for A) but these are buried under other details. With so much going on the picture's plot is often obfuscated.

The actual poetry is fun, with the letters often standing for concepts and verbs instead of objects (A is for Adventure). ( )

This is a great, and very different alphabet book. Not only does it teach the letters of the alphabet, but it takes the reader on a lovely little adventure as well. This book would be great to use for introducing rhyme, and poetry, or just teaching the alphabet.

My children (boy and girl; 7 and 9) happen to like poetry, so it surprised me that they weren't more enthusiastic about this book. The rhyme is good after all, and I thought that the artwork was interesting, but it didn't grab their attention even after I read it to them.

The subject might have something to do with that dismissal. The book has a rather dark theme, you see, wherein a little boy and his sister go off on a subterranean adventure with their gazelle, only to have some monsters kidnap the girl. It all comes out in the end, but my kids aren't into that sort of adventure at this point. (All throughout the pages there are images of children chained to this, that and the next thing; captured in cages, dragged here and there.)

Here's a sample of the prose:

E's for the Evil
that lures and entices;

F is for Fear
and its
many devices;

G is for Good
as in hero,
and morning;

H is for
"Help me!"
-- a cry,
and a warning;

Good enough rhyme, as you can hear if you read it aloud. And the lyrics are accompanied by appropriate artwork by Gris Grimly. In fact, I'd go farther than that and state that really the artwork makes this book. Particularly as there are places where Gaiman's lyrics mean nothing, and the story is moved along solely by Grimly's images.

The artwork, by the way, is done in a sepia tone, in very detailed manner, in sort of an neo-archaic style. And if you look closely enough, you can even find elements on the page that relate to the target letter: a raven for "R", for example.

Talking Points:::
Just so you know, THE DANGEROUS ALPHABET isn't really a book for small children. The 'alphabet' in the title misleads some folks, but let me assure you that most 3 year old's don't want to see a picture of a child manacled to a wall with something that's either rust or blood dripping down from their wrists.

The target audience is therefore one that already knows their alphabet, and who will enjoy the grisly aspect of the story and artwork.

The book has been given a generic Accelerated Reading number of "5". Which means that it is on the 5th grade level with no specific month determined

Take a look at the art before you purchase this book to make sure that it's appropriate for your target audience.

Fans of Gris Grimly's artwork will be pleased.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer on my kidlit blog ( )

THE DANGEROUS ALPHABET is by far the most disturbing picture book I've ever read. It focuses on two children who leave home one day and encounter all sorts of horrific beasties intent on devouring them. If I'd read it as a small child, it would've scared the hell out of me.

I imagine that most folks are likely to seek this out because of Neil Gaiman's involvement, but it's Gris Grimly's illustrations that really make the book. There's so much to see here, and most of it is creepy as all hell. Grimly doesn't pull any punches just because he's drawing for the under-five crowd. The two children and their adorable pet gazelle, (yes, I said gazelle), encounter such horrors as rusty manacles, suspiciously bulgy burlap sacks and pies with questionable things sticking out of them, plus absolutely scads of "trolls, monsters, bugbears, creatures, and other such nastinesses" as they travel through their city's sewer system. The illustrations are detailed, with all sorts of hidden surprises lurking around the edges. Grimly invites the reader to look closely at what's going on. We get a few other grisly surprises along with the children's story.

I'd certainly recommend this to adults and children with a taste for the macabre. The parents among you may also want to look through it before giving it to your child, though, just in case they're not quite ready for it yet.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

The creepiest alphabet book I've ever seen. Gaiman's picture books tend to redefine children's literature. This book has a dark, twisted little plot with strange, spooky illustrations. All's well that ends well, but it certainly makes for nightmarish bedtime reading. I absolutely recommend this book--think of it as a modern Grimm's (and I mean old school Grimm's full of demons and gore). ( )