Review: ABC is for Circus by Patrick Hruby

Book Blurb: ABC IS FOR CIRCUS celebrates the colorful and festive world of the circus through each letter of the alphabet. Young children will enjoy memorizing letters and words like A is for Acrobats, B is for Big Top, and C is for Calliope in this imaginative chunky board book. ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an awesome addition to our artist-centric line of ABC books and is sure to delight and audience of children and adults alike.

Los Angeles-based illustrator Patrick Hruby grew up in a log cabin within an Idaho forest. As a young boy he dreamt of running away to join the circus and become a trapeze artist. Eventually, however, he grew up to study math and physics before attending the renowned Art Center College of Design and pursuing a career as an illustrator. His interest in the geometry of nature is central to his work. Influenced by artists and designers such as Charley Harper, Paul Rand, and Mary Blair, Hruby has gone on to develop his own stunning and modern aesthetic. Hruby's clients include The New York Times Magazine, Playboy Jazz Festival, Varsity Pictures, and Brand New School. CMYK Magazine recently named him one of their Top 100 New Creatives.


My thoughts:  ABC is for Circus has gorgeous artwork: the colors are luminous and the shapes are fluid. Hruby has an exquisite eye for detail. If the book was meant to be an art book, it would succeed wonderfully. Unfortunately, it's designed and marketed as a children's alphabet book.

The target age group is 1-3 year olds,  but developmentally, the book fails to meet their needs. The pictures are overly busy, with too much detail. Some of the pictures are so stylized that the item intended to represent the letter is barely recognizable. Hruby does do a nice job of using both familiar and unfamiliar items but again, some are so stylized that the page fails to adequately represent the letter. The calliope especially is a mess, a gorgeous mess,  but few children will make the connection between the item depicted and the real item if they have seen one. Moreover, it is standard, and developmentally beneficial, to include both the lowercase and uppercase form of each letter but Hruby uses only uppercase. All of the text is uppercase only.

Some children will undoubtedly enjoy the book, it is pleasing to look at but as an alphabet book, it fails.

NOTE: I have taught toddlers for 17 years and am a trained early childhood educator. This review is written from the perspective of an educator.

Publisher: AMMO Books
Release Date: 11/15/2010 

This book was provided by NetGalley as an eARC.

Review: "B is for Bufflehead" by Steve Hutchcraft

 “B is for Bufflehead”  photographs and text by Steve Hutchcraft.

         Book blurb: Take a flight through the ABC's with a flock of fun feathered friends.  Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Blue-footed Boobies, loons, cuckoos, and many other fascinating birds introduce little ones to the alphabet. Eye-catching and humorous photographs combine with fun facts to entertain and educate inquisitive young minds about the wonderful world of birds.

     Review: “B is for Bufflehead” is an entertaining look at birds. The author, who also took the photographs, manages to write text that doesn't talk down to it's readers while being appropriate for a wide range of young readers. The photographs are colorful and engaging, and the page artwork is color-keyed to each picture. So, if the predominant color in the photo is blue, then the page background is a  matching shade.

    The layout allows for a range of abilities and ages. The first portion is your typical alphabet book layout of a picture, some text, and and the letter plus a word that it starts with. These pages are simple enough to engage and hold the younger readers while the second portion  has a section containing an identification game, and additional facts about the birds in the book which older readers will find interesting.

    The artwork in this book is very well done and one of the books strong points. Another strength is the subjects of the pictures themselves. Each letter is represented by at least two different species of birds and many of the birds will be new to the readers. Hutchcraft mixes familiar and unfamiliar birds, making sure that each one has something unusual or interesting about it. In his own words, “The showcased birds have a mix of fun names, fascinating personalities, and unique behaviors.”

    The alphabet portion of the book, however, is weak. Hutchcraft is so focused on the birds that connecting them to the alphabet is only given cursory attention. The focus letter of each page is only highlighted once and only in it's uppercase form. Despite this, it does work as an alphabet book and it definitely works as an introduction to birds.

 Publisher: PhotoHutch Press

  Age Range: pre-school through third grade

This book was received as a free galley from NetGalley.