The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z! by Roz Chast, Steve Martin, Roz Chast (Illustrator)

From Barnes & Noble

Good alphabet books leave an indelible imprint on little learners, and this is one of the best. Roving comedy genius Steve Martin and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast have teamed up to create an A-to-Y lexicon unlike any other. They even throw in a bonus letter for no extra charge. Martin's alliterative couplets far outstrip the usual "B is for bees" fare that one commonly sees. Who among us acquired his or her O's with "Ollie the Owl, who owed Owen an oboe"? And as was to be expected, Chast's whimsical drawings add to the comic effect.

From the Publisher

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.

Publishers Weekly

Actor, playwright and novelist Martin (Shopgirl) branches into picture books for this nutty abecedary. No humdrum "A is for apple" list, this volume faces outrageous, alliterative couplets with full-page cartoons approximating the situations they describe. Known for skewering middle-class anxieties, Chast (Meet My Staff) ably sketches scenes of kitchen mayhem ("Friday when Frank fixed frijoles and French fries/ His fiancée Franny was covered in fruit flies") and pictures the main office for Xerxes Xylophones, where a bizarre X-perience unfolds ("Ambidextrous Alex was actually axed/ For waxing, then faxing, his boss's new slacks"). She also supplements the nonsense rhymes with added images of items that start with the highlighted letter (when "Quincy the kumquat querie[s] the queen," readers see a bookshelf of tomes on quintuplets, quantum mechanics and quartz). Martin and Chast show their mettle as each other's wacky sidekicks, performing for an all-ages crowd. Adults see two well-known artists at work, creating mind-bending tableaux, while children get a taste of original tongue-twisters. This peculiar and funny book resembles a round of the Surrealists' game of exquisite cadaver or Mad Libs, worked out in a dizzying combination of words and pictures. All ages. (Oct.)

Children's Literature

Famous comedian Steve Martin constructs nonsense rhymes in couplets as he presents the alphabet. Some of the words and situations will have to be explained to children. For the letter “N,” the word “knockwurst” is used. For the letter “E,” the text reads: “Excellent Edward, exceedingly picky, Ate eggs with an eel whose earwax was icky.” The illustration shows other objects beginning with “E,” such as elephants on a shelf, an Eskimo doll, a picture of a pyramid with the word “Egypt” on it, and doors with the words “enter” and “exit.” In a word balloon over his head, a cartoon character sitting at a table says: “These eggs are exceptionally exquisite.” Adult readers may enjoy the fun more than children do. The end papers show other symbols and diacritical marks associated with letters. Reviewer: Carlee Hallman

Kirkus Reviews

This high-profile crossover will slide effortlessly onto the bestseller lists, but it's not likely to win its creators many new adult fans-or any child ones. Showing a fine disregard for foolish consistencies like end words that actually rhyme consistently, Martin fashions surreal situations in 26 couplets, each paired to a literal illustration from Chast strewn with both her customary cast of homely, anxious figures and other words or items that feature the selected letter. Though some spreads have a certain verbal and visual bounce-in the art for "Pedro the puppy piled poop on his paws / And Papa dog published his photo because," for instance, the peeved paternal parent brandishes a copy of "Popular Pooch," as mama dog praises a parsnip pizza-more often the captions read like random words strung together. Furthermore, some of the image choices, such as the 107 (or so) hunchbacks in Henrietta's hairdo, or the drunk wandering past David the dog-faced boy, skate to the edge of poor taste. A gallery of accented letters on the endpapers provides some added value, but not enough. Like Shirley and Milton Glaser's The Alphazeds (2003), any resemblance to a title for tots is coincidental. (Picture book. Adult)

Product Details

• ISBN: 0385516622
  
• ISBN-13: 9780385516624
• Format: Hardcover, 52pp
• Publisher: Doubleday Publishing
• Pub. Date: October 2007
• Sales Rank: 62,544
• Age Range: 4 to 8