Product Description

Museum ABC is a unique and colorful picture book that uses the alphabet to introduce children to more than a hundred works of art. A full spread is devoted to each letter of the alphabet and four pictures of the object represented. This simple presentation scheme allows readers to see how objects can be both the same and different in the eyes of various artists, cultures, and time periods. Children will be fascinated to discover that boats, roses, trees, or even windows can be so different from one another and from those they see every day. Adults will love the visual and cultural richness of this alphabetical tour through the Metropolitan Museum's collection. A fact section at the end of the book provides more details about each piece of art and its creator.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29157 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 60 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780316071703
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Images fine and funky accompany each letter of the alphabet in three noteworthy offerings. Museum ABC from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, announces "A is for Apple" while, opposite, a full-color spread divided into quadrants presents the evidence with details from Roy Lichtenstein's Red Apple, a detail from Paul Cezanne's Apples and two other works from the museum's collection. "N" features the noses of Giorgio de Chirico (a detail from his Self-Portrait) and Nefertari Kneeling in Adoration, a detail from the subject's Egyptian tomb, among others. Back matter provides further information about each artwork. All ages.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reSchool-Grade 3-Alphabet books are a dime a dozen, and the text of this one is no different than most: "A is for apple. B is for boat." What saves it from banality is the artwork. For example, the letter "D" is illustrated with reproductions from around the world-three male dancers from 16th-century India; a fierce, masked performer of 18th-century Japan; a rather surreal-looking pair of Colombian dancers; and an Impressionistic bevy of ballerinas by Degas. It is a shame that all this outstanding art has not been given a more thoughtful and exciting layout. Each spread contains a page of text facing a leaf of details from works of art tightly and symmetrically situated in evenly divided, square slots. The reproductions themselves are excellent, often humorous, and always eye-catching, but the book itself seems mainly intended to showcase the extensive holdings of the Metropolitan Museum. Still, it is a nice introduction to famous paintings, but may be most appreciated by visitors to the museum.
Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. Imagination and creativity abound in this brilliantly simple alphabet book from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Each page has its minimal text, as in "A is for Apple" facing a page of four images taken from the vast collections of the Met. There are objects children see every day, an egg, a tree, an umbrella, and parts of themselves, such as feet, hair, and nose. "M is for Monster" produces pictures too beautiful to be scary, including Walter Crane's Beast, and a creature from a fifteenth-century tapestry. "O is for Ox" and "P is for Peacock." They are clearly chosen for the range of fabulous images: an Italian ivory ox from a book cover plaque from the first millennium; a peacock from a nineteenth-century Will Bradley poster. The oversize letter and the word it signifies are printed in color, a hue that picks up one of the colors of the art on the opposite page. Pictures are taken from a timeless array of countries, media, and artists. Very pleasing to look upon, this illuminates lessons in color, form, shape, diversity, and artistic vision as well as the alphabet. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

This book is stunning!
My son's godmother gave it to him for his first birthday, and everyone at the party was entranced. It shows four paintings (or details from paintings) for each letter. For instance, H is for hair, and the pictures are of George Washington, a Japanese geisha, a French woman in the 18th century, and an Egyptian princess. This is a book you can look at again and again, and that adults won't tire of. A great, unusual ABC book.

Great keepsake book
This book is wonderful gift for children ages 2 and up. Age 2 children (like my son) will enjoy counting the apples on the A page, for example. Some of the art includes complex scenes that school-age children may enjoy losing themselves in. The book helps teach children about art and the alphabet in an intelligent, non-cutesy fashion. Each letter has a two-page layout: one page is: "[Letter] is for [one word]" in large type, and the second page is four different artistic intrepretations of that word, like: an Egyptian mural, a Japanese woodblock print, a Renaissance canvas, and nineteenth century French painting. What a refreshing change from cartoonish, character-based children's books!

A great language and art book
This book is beautiful and can be admired by adults as well as children. The child can learn ABC's and words that begin with the ABC's. For each letter there are four pictures depicted of the word it starts with on the opposite page. For example, B is for BOAT and the opposite page has four paintings of boats from the museum on the opposite page.
This book is appropriate for ages 2-5.