Alpha Beta Chowder - Hardcover

Steig, Jeanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1481440608 ISBN 13: 9781481440608

Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2016

Synopsis

This ode to the alphabet is wickedly funny, smart, and saucy and will have kids saying ABC, again please, you brigand!

This wry and winsome picture book is a spicy alphabet soup indeed! With each letter-centric verse introducing you to characters like noisome Naomi (nervy as a newt), King Kang (the killer kangaroo who plays kazoo), and even the lovey-dovey lunatic from Lvov, you’ll never get bored learning that “B” is for “Belligerent Bear” instead of “balloon” or “ball”!

With language that tickles with alliteration and keen wit, and drawings that gleefully capture western melodrama, domestic disasters, near-death by piano lessons, and excruciating concertina concerts, this classic Steig & Steig alphabet book is a feast for eyes and ears alike.

About this title

Review:

If Roald Dahl and Lewis Carroll were to put their heads together to write an alphabet book in verse, Alpha Beta Chowder is what they might have come up with. This, however, is the wily work of the devious Jeanne Steig. With her rollicking rhymes, alluring alliteration, and weird words--some of them of decidedly uncertain origin--Steig leads the reader through a controlled delirium, complete with a hint of menace and a little lighthearted bloodshed.

Meet Gruesome Gilbert, who smells like old galoshes and whose teeth are green, gooey, and gorgeously mildewy. And here's Xavier Max, who views the Great Sphinx; Tactless Toby, who teases Tina with tadpoles in her tapioca; and Penelope, who plummets from her piano stool, pretending to be dead so she won't have to practice her scales.

William Steig's hilarious illustrations provide a perfect accompaniment to the verses--in fact, his pictures sometimes communicate even more than the words. Children will delight in seeing Vera's feet under her bed while her parents are still wondering if she vaporized, or if a vampire's venom downed her. Parents and children be warned: if you're looking for tame and innocuous, turn right around and go home. Alpha Beta Chowder is going to tangle your tongue and wobble your world. (Ages 9 to 12)

About the Author:

Jeanne Steig is the author of several books for children including, most notably, Consider the Lemming, The Old Testament Made Easy, Alpha Beta Chowder, A Handful of Beans, and A Gift from Zeus; all of which were illustrated by her late husband and award-winning author/illustrator, William Steig. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

William Steig (1907–2003) was a cartoonist, illustrator, and author of award-winning books for children. Most notably Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, for which he received the Caldecott Medal; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor book; Amos & Boris, a National Book Award Finalist; and Abel’s Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor books. Steig is also the creator of Shrek! which inspired the Dreamworks films. Steig also received the Christopher Award, the Irma Simonton Black Award, the William Allen White Children’s Book Award, the America Book Award, and Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also the US nominee for both of the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Awards as an illustrator in 1982, and then as an author in 1988. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Steig, and four children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1481440608
• ISBN 13: 9781481440608
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Steig William