Review by New York Times Review
BACK IN THE DAY, learning letters and numbers must have been a daunting task for emerging readers and counters. A stood for nothing more interesting than apple, ? for ball, C for cat and so on, not to mention all those boring wooden blocks and marbles to be counted. But ever since Dick and Jane were given the old heave-ho and the Cat in the Hat stepped onto our collective mats, with the '60s cultural revolution right behind him, learning letters and numbers has become ever more fun - witness these four clever, imaginative and enticing books. They should tickle the funny bones as well as the brains of little linguists and mini-mathematicians. Featuring two adventurous and yarn-loving felines, a member of the alphabet on an existential journey, and even our own planet's weather patterns and topography, all show us that learning how to read and count need not be rote. Patrick McDonnell's "The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way)" begins with our protagonist, a nameless cat (perhaps a cousin of McDonnell's cat Mooch from his utterly brilliant comic strip, "Mutts"?), waking up, eyeing the open front door and bounding out into a wide world full of adventure (in alphabetical order, of course). A mostly wordless (but not letterless) story unfolds as the cat encounters a hungry alligator, a bear and a chicken, who all give merry chase. Sometimes scribbly and always charming ink lines with splashes of a limited palette of watercolors in this pareddown world help showcase the characters and goings-on. The book's vintage visual vibe harks back to George Herriman's "Krazy Kat" and George McManus's "Bringing Up Father" with a dash of the Fleischer Brothers' animated fluidity - as well as, of course, McDonnell's own aura of gentleness and sincerity. The straight ahead from-left-to-right plot takes a twist when a little princess and her dad, the king, appear and give context to all these shenanigans. A book turn, a potty break and the arrival of a unicorn (and not a letter too soon) bring the story to a close with hugs and valentines all around, as well as a well-deserved snooze. McDonnell's work once again proves to be silly, sweet and even timeless. "ABCs From Space," by the science writer Adam Voiland, is a photographic alphabet book that works through the letters via a satellite's view of our planet. Lush photos of Earth's own formations like volcanos and rivers, as well as weather patterns such as tropical storms and cloud formations, create a natural alphabet primer that could only have been made with the assistance of science and technology. Voiland provides a handy appendix that not only identifies the location of each photograph, but also gives just enough information as to what the natural phenomenon actually is to inspire budding geologists and meteorologists. Included, as well, is a smaller version of each photo with the letter superimposed over it for clarity. Twenty or so years from now, we may point to this book as the launchpad for the careers of astrophysicists and astronauts. In "Little i," by Michael Hall ("Wonderfall," "Frankencrayon"), we are introduced to an intrepid lowercase letter i who initiates an interesting journey to reclaim its itinerant dot. As the story opens, it's a humdrum day for the rank-and-file members of the alphabet, until the unimaginable occurs: Lowercase i's dot falls off and rolls away! What unfolds is a wonderfully clever and ultimately triumphant journey of self-discovery for this spunky little character. The letters communicate by assembling themselves into words (without needing two or more of any letter, of course). His alphabet kin wish little i the best of luck as he sails away unsure of his fate into the unknown, on a question mark (brilliant!). On a mysterious island, he encounters exciting exclamation points, walks through a dark cave glistening with asterisk-shaped gems and pauses at a garden of commas, showcasing Hall's facility for both grammar and graphics. You'd never think you would root so hard for a lowercase vowel. But you will. The art, like the text, is bold, simple and engaging. Brightly colored textured collaged paper makes for the perfect technique to deliver this high-concept tale. Little i may be a mere cutout letter, but his humanity shines through. Our intrepid letter finally catches up with his errant appendage, and what transpires next makes what could have been just an ingenious story into a heartfelt experience. The little letter returns to his alphabetical siblings irrevocably transformed. He's braved a hero's journey. "Counting With Tiny Cat," written and illustrated by Viviane Schwarz ("Is There a Dog in This Book?"), is partly a study in counting, and even more the record of a cat's futile pursuit of personal fulfillment and identity through the acquisition of little red balls of yarn. The story opens with the single word "None." Opposite that is Tiny Cat, colorless and alone on a stark white page with an expression suggesting Nietzsche's "if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you." With the turn of a page and the appearance of a ball of yarn, Tiny Cat's expression and focus change. On successive pages, the number of balls increases, and so does Tiny Cat's enthusiasm. His situation made me think of Deepak Chopra's concept of self-referral - an identification with your inner self and the feeling of wholeness and peace regardless of the possessions, people or circumstances in your life. Poor Tiny Cat now rampantly engages in unhinged object-referral, the seeming fulfillment of identity through external means: in this case, little red balls of yarn. As the story progresses, Tiny Cat's selfhood expands in direct correlation to the amount of balls he's collected, but when he tries to acquire just one more, his material possessions, as well as his false identity, collapse. The sparse text reads, "Too many." Indeed. The story closes on Tiny Cat, now atop a small pile of balls of yarn, content and satisfied, accompanied by the text, "Enough." But is it? Will it ever be? Or one day will Tiny Cat experience an epiphany and realize that the material world, by its very nature, is constantly in flux, and that as long as we attach our happiness and even our own identity to it, no matter how much we acquire in life, there will always be an undercurrent of insecurity, because it could all disappear at any moment? Of course, maybe Schwarz just made a book about a cat counting little balls of yarn. It works beautifully on that level, too. ? DAN YACCARINO is the author and illustrator of many picture books including, most recently, "Morris Mole."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
In the tradition of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), E-mergency (2011), and countless others, this lighthearted adventure starring the lowercase i portrays the letters of the alphabet with human characteristics. When his dot falls away, Little i searches for it, traveling to an island that has formations that resemble punctuation marks. Little i thinks a waterfall of exclamation marks is exciting! Spectacular! Magnificent! In a garden of commalike sprouts, he pauses to admire each (Get it?). When Little i finds his dot, he realizes he has outgrown it, and upon returning home, he discovers he has morphed into a capital I. The brief text and uncomplicated plot make this manageable for those just learning the alphabet, while the sly humor will appeal to those a bit older. The painted- and cut-paper collage illustrations feature brightly hued letters that stand boldly out against white backgrounds. Unlike others of this ilk, the letter characters spell out their messages if they had their say, a, w, e, s, o, m, and e would declare this awesome! --Enos, Randall Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 1-A playful exploration of language and punctuation with expressive alphabet characters, an exciting journey, and a triumphant ending. "Little i" lives a peaceful life with his fellow alphabet companions until the day his dot suddenly falls off and rolls away. Without his dot, Little i doesn't look like a letter anymore. He even looks a little like a number, and you certainly can't make any words with numbers. Uncertain and determined to regain his identity, he sets off to find his dot, embarking on an exciting journey that takes him across the sea, far from his home, and into unknown lands of language. Bright, chunky, and delicately textured cut-paper and collage illustrations fill each page of this story to the brim with color and movement. A variety of punctuation marks are thoughtfully incorporated into the story and design. In one instance, Little i encounters a waterfall of exclamation points that is "Exciting! Spectacular! Magnificent!" Later, he discovers four small green comma sprouts and pauses to admire each in turn. The matching text type and shape of the alphabet characters integrate the narrative and illustrations, and repetitive phrasing and rhetorical questions add to the appeal for younger readers. -VERDICT An inventive and well-executed story and design make this an excellent choice for young storytimes and a strong selection for most collections.-Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this cross between quest story and concept book, Little i boards a boat appropriately shaped like a question mark to find its missing dot. The protagonist lands on an island full of wonders (and punctuation) and eventually becomes Big I. Bright digitally compiled collages of painted- and cut paper create dramatic backgrounds. The roles of symbols and letters beautifully become part of the story's action. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This unusual alphabet adventure features the little letter i."When Little i's dot fell off, // [it] rolled down a hill, / tumbled over a cliff, / and splashed into the sea." The rest of the alphabet is puzzled, as without a dot, Little i looks just like a number (which is not specified, but readers who know their numerals will likely think it is a 1). So it sets out to find the missing dot. Fetching up on an island, Little i explores a dark tunnel studded with asterisks, finds a garden of comma-shaped sprouts, encounters a waterfall of exclamation points, and finally finds its dot at "the end of the winding seaside passage." But now it feels strange to have its dot back on, so Little i decides to leave it behind. When Little i returns to the alphabet without it, the other letters wonder what Little i has become. Why, Big I, of course, and all the letters cheer. The digitally combined collages of painted and cut paper form attractive, bold shapes. Little i is orange with a red dot, and all the letters have eyes, giving them personality. Hall's playfulness with shapes and colors is more challenging here than in his previous books, and the story takes on a slightly allegorical shape with Little i's excursion across punctuation. The back endpapers trace i's journey and interpret it, but whether kids will be confused or charmed by it depends on their level of sophistication. An inventive alphabet book for the perceptive reader. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
