Animalia. Written and Illustrated by: Graeme Base. Genre: Picture Books. Copyright 1986. Pages: 31.
What better way is there possibly to learn the alphabet then by learning funny little alliterations that go along with it? I will tell you what is even better, is having fantastic images of animals in preposterous situations showing you what those alliterations mean. If you have no idea what I am talking to you about, then I can't recommend enough that you grab your self a copy of this book. Be sure to open it only when you have lots and lots of time to sit and stare.
Summary:
This is a GORGEOUS book that goes through each letter of the alphabet using alliteration and the most fantastic detail oriented drawings I have seen. Each page could have minutes spent on looking at the details and I think that you would constantly find something new. As you turn through the pages you find things like "an armoured armadillo avoiding an angry alligator" and "diabolical dragons daintily devouring delicious delicacies". There are "great green gorillas" and "jovial jackals juggling jugs of jelly". Each page is delicately crafted and written in it's own manner, not adhering to the norm. I think that is why it is more than a book on alphabets and alliteration and it is truly a picture book. When you come across the "Lazy lions lounging in the local library" every book that they are laying across begins with the letter L as well. As do all of the signs on the book shelves. Each drawing is completely unique from the other. The image of "reX foX fiXing siX saX-ophones", is completely different then the "youthful yaks yodelling in yellow yachts" which is on the adjacent page.
My Assessment:
This has been a difficult book to do a summary on as each page was so individual. I found while I was writing this that so much of what I was saying was also partially my assessment as well. I think that Graeme Base is a master of what he has done here. This book is brilliant and it is topical to students at every level, from kindergarten to high school, I think that each one would find humor in something totally different.
Teaching Tip:
I have used this book to teach first graders alliteration over the Spring and it was a huge success. Not only were they able to pick up on what alliteration was before I had taught it to them, they loved all of the zainy pictures that it entails. With older children I could see having them use the pages as prompts for their own stories. There is so much opportunity to use detail in a story that I think would be an excellent exercise in creative writing. This is also another terrific picture book that could be used with ELL students to demonstrate different uses of a letter and how they can sound different in different circumstances.
My Favorite Part:
I think I have said it far too often in this review but there is very little for me not to love about this book. The illustrations really are masterful and works of art. Each page could easily be framed and hung about a library. And the alliterations that accompany them are playful and fun and make children giggle which is a gift all on its own! I already own this book and it is definitely going into my classroom library.
What better way is there possibly to learn the alphabet then by learning funny little alliterations that go along with it? I will tell you what is even better, is having fantastic images of animals in preposterous situations showing you what those alliterations mean. If you have no idea what I am talking to you about, then I can't recommend enough that you grab your self a copy of this book. Be sure to open it only when you have lots and lots of time to sit and stare.
Summary:
This is a GORGEOUS book that goes through each letter of the alphabet using alliteration and the most fantastic detail oriented drawings I have seen. Each page could have minutes spent on looking at the details and I think that you would constantly find something new. As you turn through the pages you find things like "an armoured armadillo avoiding an angry alligator" and "diabolical dragons daintily devouring delicious delicacies". There are "great green gorillas" and "jovial jackals juggling jugs of jelly". Each page is delicately crafted and written in it's own manner, not adhering to the norm. I think that is why it is more than a book on alphabets and alliteration and it is truly a picture book. When you come across the "Lazy lions lounging in the local library" every book that they are laying across begins with the letter L as well. As do all of the signs on the book shelves. Each drawing is completely unique from the other. The image of "reX foX fiXing siX saX-ophones", is completely different then the "youthful yaks yodelling in yellow yachts" which is on the adjacent page.
My Assessment:
This has been a difficult book to do a summary on as each page was so individual. I found while I was writing this that so much of what I was saying was also partially my assessment as well. I think that Graeme Base is a master of what he has done here. This book is brilliant and it is topical to students at every level, from kindergarten to high school, I think that each one would find humor in something totally different.
Teaching Tip:
I have used this book to teach first graders alliteration over the Spring and it was a huge success. Not only were they able to pick up on what alliteration was before I had taught it to them, they loved all of the zainy pictures that it entails. With older children I could see having them use the pages as prompts for their own stories. There is so much opportunity to use detail in a story that I think would be an excellent exercise in creative writing. This is also another terrific picture book that could be used with ELL students to demonstrate different uses of a letter and how they can sound different in different circumstances.
My Favorite Part:
I think I have said it far too often in this review but there is very little for me not to love about this book. The illustrations really are masterful and works of art. Each page could easily be framed and hung about a library. And the alliterations that accompany them are playful and fun and make children giggle which is a gift all on its own! I already own this book and it is definitely going into my classroom library.
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