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214th out of 455 books
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The Z Was Zapped: A Play in Twenty-Six Acts
A dramatic black-and-white presentation of the alphabet in which the two-time Caldecott Medalist depicts a mysterious transformation of each letter.
Paperback, 56 pages
Published
October 26th 1998
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 1987)
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Synopsis: Something is a foot within the Alphabet Theater! A dramatic portrayal in twenty-six acts, with moments both poignant and painful. This production is sure to capture the attention of all who experience it. With strong associations between words and letters. Could this be an alphabet book in disguise?
Review: Presented in classic theater style, Chris Van Allsburg creates a world of familiar ABC characters that are going through some tough, frightening times. The "A" is be...more
Review: Presented in classic theater style, Chris Van Allsburg creates a world of familiar ABC characters that are going through some tough, frightening times. The "A" is be...more
Olivia Lavelle
added it
The Z was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg happens to be a vert unique book. It was an alphabet book that ran into twenty-six mishaps before reaching the zapped Z. When I opened the first page it was just the letter A with rocks falling over it. I immediately thought the reader was going to have to make inferences throughout the twenty-six letters. I was partially wrong because as we flipped the page the illustrated text was behind each picture. I wonder why Chris Van Allsburg set the book up to be ...more
At first glance, it is easy to see that this book was made in a portrait format. I believe this is because the book is acting as if you are watching a stage performance; therefore, each illustration acts as the actor and calls for a portrait style view. Another interesting aspect of the book is that all of the illustrations are in black and white. I believe this was done to create a more serious mood for the reader as well as express a certain level of creepiness and darkness. The font is also v...more
Big Fat Hen. By Keith Baker. Jan 1999. 31 p. Harcourt. $14.15. ISBN: 978-0-613-15736-0. Grades K-3.
Keith Baker's Big Fat Hen is a counting book based on the timeless rhyme “One two, buckle my shoe”. In this colorfully illustrated book, readers are encouraged to count eggs and chicks along with the mother hen. Readers then count the big fat hen's friends and finally count all of the hens' eggs and chicks. Big Fat Hen helps children practice counting to ten as well as offers the ch...more
Keith Baker's Big Fat Hen is a counting book based on the timeless rhyme “One two, buckle my shoe”. In this colorfully illustrated book, readers are encouraged to count eggs and chicks along with the mother hen. Readers then count the big fat hen's friends and finally count all of the hens' eggs and chicks. Big Fat Hen helps children practice counting to ten as well as offers the ch...more
This alphabet book is quite a unique production; each letter appears on the right-hand side of the book, then when the page is turned a brief bit of text is given: "The A was in an Avalanche," "The B was badly bitten," and so on. This lends a bit of a wordless-book experience, since the image must be interpreted before the text is read.
It is rendered in black-and-white charcoal, and unlike most alphabet books, the scene never shifts, but their presentation is call...more
It is rendered in black-and-white charcoal, and unlike most alphabet books, the scene never shifts, but their presentation is call...more
The Z was Zapped was a very interesting book! This book was about the basic ABC alphabet. Each page shows each letter of the alphabet doing an action on a stage that starts with the letter being described. This is a great book for children to predict what is going to happen to the letters. The illustrations are amazing, nicely drawn with pencil. Van Allsburg books are always beautiful and interesting books to look at the pictures and understand the book by just looking at the pictures. I thought...more
Chris VanAllsburg makes beautiful illustrations and I have to say that even if he never wrote a single line in his stories, I would still love them. (Who doesn't love The Polar Express? If you don't - you're dead to me.) This is such a simple concept (an alphabet book), but he takes it to a new level incorporating alliteration and sophisticated vocabulary. There are many uses I can see for using this book starting in Pre-K all the way through 8th grade. It has appeal at every level -- you'r...more
This unique "alphabet" book was clever and fun to read. The black-and-white (pencil) drawn illustrations are impressing, mostly because of their ability to convey texture, depth, and fine detail. Chris Van Allsburg include an illustration of each single letter of the alphabet (in 26 "acts") undergoing some type of strange change on a page. Following this page is a short explanation on the next page about the previously shown letter (such as: "The F was firmly flattened"...more
The book is in portrait form. the illustrations have border and most of them are centered. Once again, Van Allsburg used great shadowing techniques in what looks like pencil or charcoal. Looking at the first two pages where the story begins, you know this may be about the alphabet. In fact on the first page, it shows the letter A, with not text so I thought this story wouldn't have any text.....until you turn the page to letter B. The text is on the left again, and the illustrations are on the r...more
Destiny
added it
The A was zapped had a different texture then the previous Chris Van Allsberg book i reviewed. The previous book of his i read had a rough tewxture and thick paper but this one is nice a smooth something i can run my hands over. This book is also black and white but some how the pictures were still full of just enough color.The style of the book is portrait although there are no humans in the book making it puzzeling to me. The pictures were basically of a shelf with a shadow underneath it prese...more
"The Z was Zapped" was an excellent book to read. It goes over each alphabet letter, which makes it a good book for kids learning the alphabet. I thought the author was creative on how he did his illustrations for every letter in this book. All the illustrations in the book are done in white and black as well, which is quite fine for a book like this. Each letter in the alphabet in this story had a unique twist to it. For instance, the "M" appears to be melting and the "...more
Van Allsburg is one of my favorite authors. This Caldecott Award-winning author brings a unique perspective to his stories.
Alphabet books are boring. I think they are boring even to the very young, for whom they are written. This offering, however, is compelling. Each letter is presented in Van Allsburg sculptured art. One has to turn the page to reveal the exquisite text. After the first few, the reader gets with the program and can begin trying to figure them out almost as th...more
Alphabet books are boring. I think they are boring even to the very young, for whom they are written. This offering, however, is compelling. Each letter is presented in Van Allsburg sculptured art. One has to turn the page to reveal the exquisite text. After the first few, the reader gets with the program and can begin trying to figure them out almost as th...more
Of course this is a great book... It is Chris VanAllsburg! "The A was in an Avalanche" this is the kind of language that can be found in this nontraditional alphabet book. The book is in black and white and the vocabulary is rich and entertaining. When opening the book there was a picture of A and then on the page about A is a picture of B. So you see, the matching picture comes before you read about the letter. This leaves room for prediction and adds a little suspense. Very cre...more
ABC Book: Chris Van Allsburg did not disappoint in this fun alphabet book. Cleverly written the form of a theatrical production, each letter is present to the reader in the some type of predicament. The reader can try to guess how the author describes the letter’s situation on the following page in a simple sentence. Even though the author crafted each description using alliteration, this is not your typical “A” is for apple alphabet book. Instead, the read finds the “A” in an avalanche, the ...more
Ronyell
rated it
The Z was Zapped” is another surreal book from the creative mind of Chris Van Allsburg, the well-known author of “Jumanji.” In this book, the Alphabet Theatre introduces a play where all twenty-six letters of the alphabet are somehow involved in some kind of unfortunate mishap. “The Z was Zapped” will surely be an instant treat for children who want to learn the alphabet in a more creative way.
Chris Van Allsburg has done a magnificent job on both the writing and the illustrations ...more
Chris Van Allsburg has done a magnificent job on both the writing and the illustrations ...more
The Z was zapped was a good alphabet book. It was an interesting how they had it written like a play. The problem I did see with the book was that some of the letters were warped so much that you could not tell what letter they were. Therefore, I would not recommend this book for children who are learning the alphabet but maybe children who are learning to read. The illustrations in here make the story and the story makes the illustrations so the book has a nice mix.
I think this is an interesting book for children who already know their alphabet. I don't think it is good for kids who are learning their alphabet because the letters are often distorted and the words about the letter can't be seen at the same time as the letter itself. This would be confusing for a child to who is learning the alphabet to be looking at one letter and hearing about a different letter. I especially worry about already ambiguous letters like "M" and "N."
As far as alphabet books go, this one is certainly near the top of the ranks. If Chris Van Allsburg was going to create a book to teach the alphabet (though is this one, after all?), of course it was going to be something this innovative and entertaining, including full, rich drawings that remain in the reader's imagination for a very long time. I would give one and a half stars to The Z Was Zapped.
Contrary to my teacher's love, the letter K was not my favorite! My Slis 571 class briefly discussed this book, but I wanted to pick it up a second time in order to study the pencil/charcoal drawings the book offers. First off, I love the subtitle--a play in 26 acts. To set the book up like a play was a great idea. Secondly, I enjoyed the black and white--it made for a nice change-up, and actually works for this book. That being said, I feel like this book would be better for an early reader tha...more
I thought this book was the most charming alphabet book I have ever read. To turn the alphabet into something so original is amazing. Each letter brings about a little giggle from the reader. To top it off, the illustrations are beautiful! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting an alphabet book for his/her child or student. Children will love looking at letters in a whole new way.
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This book offers an innovative and fairly dark take on the classic alphabet book. I found the richly drawn black and white illustrations to be the highlight of this book, but enjoyed the clever word choice and theater set up very much as well. I wasn’t bothered by the format of putting the description after its corresponding illustration, and instead really enjoyed guessing what the upcoming verb might be.
I didn't find this book too interesting. All it was, was a picture of each letter in the alphabet with one sentence to go along with each picture. I didn't really see the point to the book at all, it had no story to it. Unless, the whole point was to help really young kids with the alphabet, maybe. The pictures were awesome, but overall I found the book boring.
A great alphabet book with illustrations that would appeal to older language learners. Each letter suffers through a series of acts on a stage. "A" stands under an avalanche, "B" is badly bitten by a dog, and "C" is cut to ribbons. Short text describes the fate of each letter with highly visual language and an illustration that supports it. Very clever book.
This is an alphabet book that takes place in a play. Each letter has its own act. In each act the letter is having something silly happen to it that helps the child remember the letter. The story is in black and white and each letter takes center stage during its turn. As far as alphabet books go this is not my favorite, but I do love the pictures.
this is a good book for younger children because it brings into account different letters and associating them to different words; however, the illustrations and tone of the book may not be appropriate. this book goes through each letter of the alphabet and talks about something happening to the letter. hence the name: "the z was zapped."
This was an interesting ABC book that I found a little more advanced than most for a picture book. My son seemed to like it although the words are harder and maybe a little over his head. My only technical problem with the book is that the text is on the page ahead of the letter shown which seems awkward.
Awesome alphabet book. It is a little different to have the picture that goes with the text for the letters on the page before... but I guess it needs to be that way. If it wasn't that way, we wouldn't be able to enjoy guessing what it would say based on the pictures.
Great illustrations.
Great illustrations.
Clever illustrations, but it annoyed me that you have to turn the page to read the text to go along with the illustration on the previous page. Seems like that would thoroughly confuse kids. You know, they are looking at a picture of a "C" and the text is describing the illustration of the "B".
I did not like the set up of the book. On one page you see a picture then wne you turn the page you see the next pictue and a description of the picture before it.
I guess i some circles that would be considered creative- for me... my thoughts are....confusing for kids.
I guess i some circles that would be considered creative- for me... my thoughts are....confusing for kids.
Not your typical alphabet book! The twenty-six acts in this theatrical production vary in scope. Some are terrifying while others are delicious. I found myself trying to predict the words that would follow and not doing a very good job. Great for building vocabulary.
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Chris was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 18th, 1949, the second child of Doris Christiansen Van Allsburg and Richard Van Allsburg. His sister Karen was born in 1947.
Chris’s paternal grandfather, Peter, owned and operated a creamery, a place where milk was turned into butter, cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream. It was named East End Creamery and after they bottled the milk (a...more
More about Chris Van Allsburg...
Chris’s paternal grandfather, Peter, owned and operated a creamery, a place where milk was turned into butter, cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream. It was named East End Creamery and after they bottled the milk (a...more
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