Avalanche

by Michael J. Rosen, David Butler (Illustrator)

A unique alphabet book features a boy, a dog, and a snowball on the move that disrupts the whole cosmos as it teaches children each letter from A to Z.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Rosen's Website should provide all this and more. It's http://www.fidosopher.com.
Nonetheless: Michael J. Rosen is an American author and illustrator with over 120 books of fiction, nonfiction, humor, picture books, poetry, and more. With a strong interest in nature and animals, reflecting his animal behavior degree from Ohio State University, Rosen resides within a peaceful crease of Central Ohio with his pack of animal companions that include 2 small koi ponds he helped build on the 100 acres he shares in the foothills of the Ohio Appalachians. An avid dog lover, he was inspired by Chant, his newest Australian stumpy-tail cattle dog, which led to the creation of his newest book of fiction, The Tale of Rescue, which will be released in October 2015. With an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, Rosen also showcases his skills and talents in other projects such as The Maine Coon’s Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers (2015).

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and clever tale of a runaway snowball, and the objects it encounters.

[Laura Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a snowball who takes a journey through the alphabet, through time and through space as it gathers all in its path on the way to becoming an Avalanche. Each verse’s snap and crackle will promote some energy for the reader and the child listening to the story. David Butler illustrated the book and he uses a bank of vivid colours that depict the hunger of the avalanche. Children with Early Years foundation stage would enjoy this book and it will help them remember the alphabet. The jazzy mood, with huge amount of emphasis on a new letter introduced will keep children thoroughly entertained.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book to teach the alphabet

[TCNS]

Filed under "Winter."

[Mrs Mower · Rating 4 out of 5]

"That snow ball stole a lot of stuff." -Ms Packard's Ks

[L M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The alphabet inside of a fantastical avalanche of words

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun snowy take on an A-Z story.

[Erin Reda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Avalanche is an ABC book however, it's not like most ABC books that we're use to. This ABC book tells a story of an avalanche and all the crazy things that happen. On each page there are two letters included and while the letter/name of object is included it is also included in the picture. For example it says "Rainbows float" and there are pictures of rainbows on the page. The The pictures have a lot going on in them as the book progresses so it keeps the child busy by looking at everything going on in the picture. The illustrations are pretty crazy and I feel like boys would really like this book at a young age because boys like destructive and crazy things. I like that each letter on the page stands out because it is in a bigger print and it is a different color than the regular black font. This is a good ABC book for older children because it doesn't just have one sentence on each page, like A is for Apple. The illustrations are very detailed and done at almost a birds eye view angle of the page to keep it interesting.

[Megan McKenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal reaction: This book is not like most ABC books one may read. While the book rhymes throughout, it tells the story of a snowball that takes a journey through the world and the galaxy into a total avalanche! I enjoyed the rhyme and the idea of a non-traditional ABC book. The book does a nice job of incorporating words of each letter into the story of the avalanche.

Purpose: This book could be a read aloud for children in kindergarten and first grade. The illustrations of this book are unique created by mixed media and collage. The vocabulary in the story could be discussed (i.e. unearthed). In addition, asking the children what they think an avalanche is and what they think might happen in the story at the beginning of the book looking at the cover. This book could be used for curricular purposes in which the children come up with words to describe an avalanche of their own.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

while i didn't read this to the critters, steve did and warned me that i wouldn't care for it. why? because it was truly frightening watching a snowball fly into space and suck up parts of the world and all. i do have that little phobia issue about the earth exploding and he correctly thought that this book wouldn't help matters. it didn't.

[Boni · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really enjoyed this one- the rhyme is wonderful and clever with terrific rhythm. Fun to read. It gets a little trippy story-wise, but I like a little nonsense with my picture books sometimes :) The illustrations are inventive and a great match for the text- I imagine you'll see things on subsequent readings that you haven't noticed before.

[Sarah M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did a good job at taking an interesting story to teach the alphabet. The author finds something in the path of the snowball that fits each letter. This will help children remember words and letters because it shows pictures that they can remember as well.

[Christie Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a good book to read during the winter months. This book could be used in a lesson about adjectives and nouns! This book is full of lesson ideas!

[The Book Box]

Mama read this to me this afternoon.