ABC of Canada
by Kim Bellefontaine
illustrated by Per-Henrik Gürth
Date: 2002
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library
Follow acclaimed artist Per-Henrik Gürth's colorful cast of animal characters on this alphabet tour across Canada.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
I was hoping for a little bit more from this one. While most of the selections for the twenty-six letters are okay, I thought X was a little weak (x-country skiing? Really?) and we really didn't need two examples of questionable animal treatment one right after the other (for C and D).
The illustrations are colourful, but too simple for my taste. It's amusing that the book is populated by beavers, moose, and bears, but I've seen these particular characters used more effectively in other books (especially Nicholas Oldland's Life in the Wild series).
Another Canadian-themed alphabet book I've read is M Is for Maple, and while I didn't love that one, either, I liked it better than this. It covers far more interesting subject matter and the pictures are much nicer. Two other alphabet books with a distinctly Canadian flavour that you might want to check out are Kelly Hill's Anne's Alphabet and Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail and Kalpna Patel's Alis the Aviator.
Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 2/5
Enjoyment: 2/5
Overall: 2.33 out of 5
Ooh...yeah, it definitely looks like it could use a bit of work, but to each their own. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to find a really great Canadian alphabet book. Guess I'll have to keep looking!
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