A Little Book About ABCs

by Leo Lionni, Julie Hamilton (Illustrator)

A new board book for the youngest fans of Leo Lionni--inspired by his bestselling books and perfect for baby showers and anyone looking for an alphabet book to help teach the little ones in their lives the ABCs!

Discover alligators, beautiful butterflies, chunks of cheese, and lots more in this delightful alphabet book inspired by the works of legendary children's book author-illustrator Leo Lionni. With sturdy pages and colorful collage-style artwork, this ABC board book is perfect for boys and girls ages 0 to 5.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Picture Books

28 pages, Board Book

Published January 15, 2019

About the author

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner--for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni has gained international renown for his paintings, graphic designs, illustrations, and sculpture, as well as for his books for children. He was born in Holland in 1910 of Dutch parents, and although his education did not include formal art courses (in fact, he has a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa), he spent much of his free time as a child in Amsterdam's museums, teaching himself to draw.

Lionni's business training gradually receded into the background as his interest in art and design grew. Having settled in Milan soon after his marriage in 1931, he started off by writing about European architecture for a local magazine. It was there that he met the contacts who were to give him a start as a professional graphic designer. When he moved to America in 1939, Lionni was hired by a Philadelphia advertising agency as art director. Later he became design director for the Olivetti Corporation of America, and then art director for Fortune magazine. At the same time, his reputation as an artist flourished as he began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in galleries from New York to Japan.

Lionni launched his career as an author/illustrator of books for children in 1959. Originally developed from a story he had improvised for his grandchildren during a dull train ride, Little Blue and Little Yellow was the first of what is now a long list of children's picture books, including four Caldecott Honor Books.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: A is for alligator. B is for beautiful butterflies. C is for chunks of cheese.

Premise/plot: This board book is inspired by the works/characters of Leo Lionni. It is a concept book--an alphabet book.

My thoughts: What you see is exactly what you get. This alphabet book stars some familiar characters from Leo Lionni's books. There is another book in this "Leo Lionni's Friends" series, A Little Book About Spring. My guess is that there will be more books coming soon.

I wish it was a little bit more transparent who did what when. The two people credited with the work are Leo Lionni and Julie Hamilton. Yet it doesn't say who wrote the text or who did the illustrations. The characters are all Leo Lionni. But is Julie Hamilton just illustrating in the style of Leo Lionni? Did she write the text to accompany the illustrations? If she didn't write the text, who did? (Leo Lionni has been dead since 1999.)

[Jess El-Zeftawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

While "x-tra" and "zzz" are not real words, I appreciated the variety of creative alphabet associations with this one. The illustrations were adorable and the mice are funny characters. We picked this one up for my daughter's Easter basket and we're not disappointed.

[Cristina Di Matteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un tenero viaggio tra le lettere dell’alfabeto accompagnato dalle inconfondibili creature di Leo Lionni. *A Little Book About ABCs* trasforma l’apprendimento in un gioco visivo e affettuoso, dove ogni lettera diventa occasione per esplorare forme, colori e suoni. Un piccolo classico per i più piccoli, che unisce educazione e poesia in perfetto stile Lionni.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new board book addition to the Leo Lionni edition. This is full of the cheerful colors and characters that you know and love in an ABC format. The words for each letter aren't particularly original, but the illustrations are bright and the little mice are engaging. A wonderful book to add to any board book shelf or new baby gift basket.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Jaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Left a similar review for the companion book (colors) but a board book with great illustrations/informative so it grows with your babies. The twins loved the contrasting colors. Will be buying the set for our home library.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This board book is lovely. It covers the alphabet with some alliteration.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of ABC books but this one was made tolerable by the familiar and beautiful illustrations.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lionni's beloved illustrations dance across the page in this ABC book.

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Leo Lionni's little mice. This is a sweet little book.

[The Transmuted Tree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red 1st

[Aarvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read!

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. The mouse is so cute and the items they choose to feature feel different than the usual.

[L.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

X and Z could’ve been a little better, but this is super cute with great illustrations; neat how the different letters interacted on the pages that were next to each other.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing outstanding but it did seem to capture the 1-2 year olds attention at daycare and they brought it to me repeatedly to read to them.

[Ellice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little ABC board book with an adorable mouse and other illustrations done in a paper-cut/collage style.