Alphabet rhymes have been enjoyed for as long as parents and teachers have sat down with children to teach them their ABC. This beautiful and richly colourful book provides a wonderful mix of traditional and new Alphabets each illustrated by a different artist. A Was Once an Apple-Pie by Edward Lear was first published in 1871 and was one of the first books to take a lighter approach to learning. The artist Rosalind Beardshaw has perfectly caught Lear's delicious sense of humour in his mischievous Alphabet. The Shaker Abecedarious was first published in 1882 and was designed to make reading instruction more enjoyable by introducing rhythm and rhyme. Jan Barger has brought style and simplicity to this wonderful work. A Was an Archer Tom Thumb's Picture Alphabet is actually based on a political rhyme published around 1701. Tiphanie Beeke's beautiful and delicate collage work perfectly complements this curious ABC. An Alphabet of Nursery Rhymes. Specially selected for this book these rhymes have been illustrated with fun and energy by Lynne Chapman. The Christmas Alphabet Mary Claire Smith has created an exquisite new alphabet for the festive season to finish of this fabulous collection

 

There are 96 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2003 by Chicken House Ltd .

Wendy Cooling has been a teacher, Head of Children's Book Foundation and is now well-known as a freelance children's book consultant and anthologist.