The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!

by Roz Chast and Steve Martin

Book Overview

The acclaimed entertainer and bestselling author Steve Martin and the wildly clever New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast team up in a weird, wonderful excursion through the alphabet.

The ABCs have never had it so good. Created by two of today's wittiest, most imaginative minds, The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z is a sheer delight from A to Z. In twenty-six alliterative couplets, Steve Martin conjures up much more than mere apples and zebras. Instead we meet Horace the hare, whose hairdo hides hunchbacks, and Ollie the owl, who owed Owen an oboe. Roz Chast contributes the perfect visual settings for Martin's zany two-liners. Her instantly recognizable drawings are packed with humorous touches both broad and subtle.

Each rereading--and there will be many--delivers new delights and discoveries. There, hidden behind Bad Baby Bubbleducks, is a framed picture of a beatnik holding balloons; and the letter C finds clunky Clarissa all clingy and clueless adrift in a landscape cluttered with images ranging from a curiously comfortable clown to Chuck's Chili stand. A smart, laugh-inducing introduction to the alphabet for young children, The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z will also enchant adults with its matchless mix of the sophisticated and the silly.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385516622
• ISBN13: 9780385516624
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Flying Dolphin Press
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.3" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 2 to 5 years

Customer Reviews

Great Alphabet Book

Steve Martin has a winner in this one. From cover to cover the art work and sing song text is hilarious and full of interesting detail. A cute poem for each letter makes going through the alphabet fun for parents and child. I bought this for my 2 year old neice...it may take a while before she can fully appreciate all the hidden humor in this book but she enjoyed the story and I couldn't put it down which is a nice change when reading to a little one!!!

Funny and ridiculous

I can't imagine a more ridiculous funny alphabet book. It's vocabulary is beyond most kids, but what the kids will love is the sound of the language used, the alliteration, the rhyming couplets. it's awesome.

We love alphabet books, my nephews love them, and I collect them too.

I love Steve Martin and Roz Chast, what a pairing for our alphabet! My nephews really enjoyed this as much as I did--so reading it together was a joy. This reminds me of a very witty adult alphabet book I got last year for Christmas (because I own cats) called, "The Well Lettered Cat: Upper-crust or lower case, they were all characters." Yet another clever and witty story line with unusually well designed letters. Both of these books are great for alphabet soup aficionados! Go Steve go Roz!

GIANT LEAP FORWARD FOR THE HUMBLE ALPHABET!

The gods smiled when they hooked up Steve Martin & Roz Chast for this book -- both brilliant in their respective fields! After this book, all of us will approach the alphabet with new respect, and barely muffled laughter!

Heard about this on NPR

I heard about this book on NPR. They interviewed Steve Martin and the illustrator about the book. Steve read some excerpts from the book; they were quite witty; funny for adults too. It reminded me of the Dr. Seuss ABC book, but perhaps even more witty. I will definitely get it for my new sweetheart baby daughter.