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CM . . .
. Volume XII Number 16 . . . .April 14, 2006
excerpt:
As the father of two perfect little angels, I simply do not understand Shannon Stewart and Dušan Petricic’s new alphabet book, Alphabad! No, seriously, as I read about all the mischievous things the characters of Alphabad get up to, I could not help but think, “My kids do that too!” Then a moment later, as the cloud of forgetfulness cleared from my mind, “Hey, I remember doing that too!” Alphabad is a hilarious childhood romp through the alphabet, from A is for atrocious, through to Z is for zany zoo kids. In Alphabad, the children hide behind a hedge, leave a trail of filthy footprints, write on a wall, run naked through the neighbourhood, and impolitely interrupt important conversations. The children of Alphabad! blaze a trail of destruction as they progress through the alphabet. From the poor babysitter (who gets booby-trapped), to Dad (unwittingly tripped by a diaper), and to Mommy (maddened in a mall), the children of this book leave a trail of frustrated, infuriated adults in their wake. Dušan Petricic’s illustrations complement the text in a delightful manner. The children in the drawings all seem to be having so much fun that they cannot contain themselves. Their faces reflect their mischief and excitement (contrasting deliciously with the frustrated, angered, even fearful faces of the adults). The illustrations are primarily pen sketches but the black and white sketches are augmented cleverly by sparing use of green shading in each drawing. Despite my earlier kindergarten-grade 3 designation, this book is really for children and adults alike. Young and old will chuckle at the clever alliterative text and the imaginative illustrations. Indeed, Alphabad is for anybody with a sense of fun. As a word of warning, however, readers should know that this book is enough to leave one wondering why anyone would want to have children! Ah, those little treasures we call children sure know how to push our buttons—just like the rascal who pushes all the elevator buttons in Alphabad. Kids for sale! I have a three year old and a six year old going cheap! With the money I make, I think I will rush out and buy another Stewart or Petricic book. Highly Recommended. To hide away from his two Alphabad daughters, Gregory Bryan goes to work in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB.
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