Charley Harper ABCs: Chunky Edition

by Charley Harper

Charley Harper ABCs is a delightful children's hardcover book featuring this American icon's colorful graphic illustrations of animals and nature. Conceived as a mini companion to the impressive, large-format Charley An Illustrated Life, ABCs introduces Charley's work to budding young readers and grown-ups alike. Charley's beautifully designed illustrations make learning A is for Ape, B is for Bird, and C is for Crab memorable and fun. This charming, educational book is sure to appeal to Charley's loyal fans as well as introduce his lyrical illustrations to a whole new generation of young readers.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Art, Nature, Nonfiction

62 pages, Board Book

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

A Modernist artist. He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations.

Reviews

[Liesl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely geometric illustrations! The collages on the opening and closing pages in particular are striking. I wish that U, W and X represented animals like the rest of the letters since their associations interrupt the flow, but this is a minor quibble. I like how a brief biography of Harper is included at the end along with a couple of pictures.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love anything with Charley Harper illustrations.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of Kids books gonna be on this feed in the next few years since I'm Daddin' hard so be warned.

The kid's already got a Charley Harper bedsheet and a Charley Harper play mat so it's not crazy that she's got this ABCs book too. The art is fantastic and I'm a sucker for animals and anything naturey so this one's a hit. The best part is that it has a little "about the author" page which is rare for a kids book. I had just kind of assumed Harper was a contemporary young hip guy or something and was intrigued to learn that he died in 2007 after a long career. Great stuff.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you'd anticipate, the art is striking. Most of it young children "get." Some if they don't. (For example, the aesthetic of "O is for owl," "P is for pig," "T is for turtle," and "Z is for zebra" can be a big confusing, especially for the youngest children who are still working to recognize reality, let alone its abstraction.) Similarly, while the book doesn't claim to be an ABC animal book, it seems to aim for that goal, tossing in other bits of nature as needed ("N is for nest," "U is for underwater," and "W is for web" (my favorite illustration of the book)). It's clear that the illustrations were drawn from Harper's estate, rather than an intention to create a children's ABC book. Even so, I really enjoy having Harper's art in the classroom and am happy it can enter in this format.

[Hend Alalwani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal reaction;
I really like this book because children can learn from it three things which are different colors, alphabet, and different kinds of animals and letters.

Purpose/use in the classroom,
Read aloud for children whose age between one to six years old. Children at those first years can learn different types of colors and animals like ape, monkey, zebra orange, blue, and red.

Children in first grade can read it by themselves, and they can learn new words with the alphabet.

Teachers and parents can use in the classroom to teach children alphabet and types of animals. Also, they can introduce more information about what animals eat and where they live.

The illustration is great, and with each letter the author put different kind of animals and with different color.it is colorful book and the language are simple and easy to understand.

[Esti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charley Harper's ABCs is one of many board books to proclaim “D is for dog,” but one of few to do it so beautifully that adults will be as captivated as children. Published just after the artist's death, the book is as much a tribute to his art as an alphabet primer, with pictures that, though they still illustrate the words chosen for each letter, span a range of styles and will definitely merit second glances. The large text and vibrant colors will captivate small children, while the fine detail will make the books a rewarding experience for parents. Recommended for toddlers, and everyone else.

Tags: board book, alphabet, illustration, artist book, babies

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 0-4. This nice chunky board book introduces youngsters to the ABCs—and to a famous Ohio artist! Parents, too, will revel in this stunning collection of Harper’s animal and nature prints, featuring stark color contrasts and precise lines. The association between the letter and the illustration is very clear, thanks to the simple text—“A is for Ape, B is for Bird”—and makes the book a great teaching tool.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to help learn animals and letters.
My only complaint is that they have animals for every letter except for letters U, W, and X.

For you Charley said "U is for Underwater","W-is for web", and "X is for How many X's can you find?"

I wish he stuck with animals and put "U- is for Urchin", "W-is for Walrus" and "X-is for X-ray fish."
So that part of the book bugs me, but the illustrations of the book are great and I would still buy the book for my family.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

24 months - We already have a number of ABC books and I wasn't sure we needed another but three things sold me, the beautifully drawn graphics, the simple colored backgrounds that make the letters and words jump out and the $1 price tag at Goodwill. I'm glad I bought it. It took ten minutes to flip from the inside cover, O was fascinated by all the images. After we've read this book a few times it will be a great crib book for "quiet time" (nap time).

[Jessica Lowery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a simple ABC board book with gorgeous animal illustrations for each letter of the alphabet by the iconic Charlie Harper. I used to have his Big Golden Book of Biology when I was a girl, but now it’s impossible to get unless you want to spend hundreds of dollars for a collector’s edition. However, small children’s books like this one allow a new generation to see his beautiful geometric nature paintings.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Charley Harper, and I stood with it in my hands, dumbfounded that I had never before heard of this man. I love his art. My one qualm about this book - which does not affect my enjoyment in the least - is that it is actually too big and thick for infants/toddlers to hold with their tiny little hands. Luckily, I am not an infant or toddler. Usually.

[Janessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork in this ABC collection will inspire the naturalist in every child. Each page further opens the eye to the natural world around us. I especially love Harper's ingenuity on letter 'X', where the reader is told to count the x's made by the criss-cross of waterskippers legs skimming across the water.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A is for ape. B is for bird. C is for crayfish. So starts this wildly creative ABC board book by the renowned Charley Harper. There are lots of colors on each page and the illustrations are completely original. The design person in me is always delighted to find children's book with a clean, but bold, aesthetic.

[Ronni · Rating 5 out of 5]

On top of the classic animal illustrations and the creative/diverse choices (think crayfish, quail, vulture...), this book is a work of beautiful design. Don't forget to let your littles "read" the end papers! And even though I'm not the target audience, I can't resist noting that got a little thrill from the inclusion of an "about the author" for this board book.

[Amy Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABCs by Charley Harper is a straightforward ABC book in the "A is for Ape..." format. Each double page spread features one letter and associated word on the left side and one of Charley Harper's animal pictures on the right side. It's colorful, graphic, and appealing. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a book with great animal pictures or someone who wanted an alphabet book.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful, but boring. I wonder if Charley Harper would have wanted his art to be compiled into a board book. I'm not sure the book would interest little kids (ie. A is for...., B is for....), but it has beautiful illustations for kids/adults to look at, and for that, I think it's good.

[Modboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charley Harper's art is very beautiful and seems to come from the perspective of a graphic designer. Although it's just the ABCs and I'm already quite familiar with the alphabet I find myself thumbing through this from time to time.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good alphabet book. Each page spread has a solid colored page on the left with the letter and the word representing it, then a beautiful nature drawing on the right. I did not like the X page that didn't really have word or nature drawing, thus interrupting the pattern.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endpages are fantastic! This book absolutely had me ready to go out and purchase it until the "P is for pig" page. LAME! And why is some of the art so very pixelated? They really couldn't find an original to copy instead? This lowered the quality for me significantly. Bummer!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not think this book has good pictures to support the letters (abc's). The pictures were confusing. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to children that are just beginning to learn the Alphabet.

[Greg Majewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

THANK YOU for not doing something dumb with X like "X is for X-Ray." Charley Harper must not have ever drawn a Xantus's Hummingbird.

I also think P is funny. Even though "P is for Pig," the illustration is of a piggy bank overlaid on the blueprints of a house.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I enjoy Charley Harper's art I enjoyed this book. It seemed a bit obvious that the pictures were not made specifically for this children's book but instead were just compiled from Harper's art. Made for pleasant and different reading/viewing with the little one.

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

M IS FOR MONKEY

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this on the shelf at our local bookstore and was instantly captivated by Charley Harper's art. I want to see/know more!

[Mamafeelgood]

Beautiful artwork.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like his illustrations, especially the vultures!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most beautiful ABC book I've ever seen. We - both parents & baby - can't get over the illustrations. Even at just under a year, Daze is totally sucked in.

[Rissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! This is a nice introduction to the alphabet and and art. I highly recommend this for toddlers (and the aunts who love them).

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the most beautiful ABC book I've ever seen; one of the most visually stunning children's books I've seen period.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Nice animal theme.