Creature ABC (2009)

Great, bold pictures ( )

WOW. What a great ABC book. The photographs of animals are amazingly detailed. The letter is introduced with a partial or smaller picture of the animal and when the page is turned there is the full lower case word with a larger or more detailed picture of the animal.Has an illustrated glossary in the back. ( )

In fact, it could very well be the sort of book that people buy for kids, look at 'carefully' with kids, and then put away for their children's children.

Which is to say that Andrew Zuckerman's photography and layout is amazing.

What you will fine in Mr. Zuckerman's book are various pictures of animals associated with letters of the alphabet. This, of course, is nothing new. But what makes these images special is the perspective and how everything is placed on the white-white background.

For example, for the letter "A" we have Alligator. Four pages for him. On one page there is only giant upper and lower case A's. On the two following pages there is our gator friend, in all his glory, along with the word 'alligator'. But what really struck me as wondrous, was the picture of his foot on the very first page. It's a macro shot and just stunning. You can see the remarkable bumpiness of the alligator's skin, and these long toenails. One amazing foot (that looks like it's had a pedicure).

Not all creatures have the same treatment. The elephant, with it's huge foot is shown up close along with another photo which is a head shot; but not the dove. With it's sweet pictures we get a sense of motion as she is caught in mid-flight. Other creatures are treated as a category. "I", for example, is for insects.

But no matter which letter/animal you choose, the images and poses are interesting.

Pierce College Library
3-6 Years ( )

This is a fantastic book with real photographs of the animals. I think this was a great touch as it is more engaging to look at a real-life photo. I think that it has the potential for the child to learn the letter easier because the photo is so appealing. It definitely hold a child's attention, and would be a great book to have in a pre-school setting.

Creature ABC is a very educational book. It shows you real life photos of animals that goes along with the letter on the page. The pictures are extremely beautiful, they show the animals in their own likelihoods. Children even under the age of PreK will enjoy learning the alphabets while also seeing nature come to life. ( )