Brian Wildsmith's Amazing Animal Alphabet

by Brian Wildsmith

Here's a brand new alphabet book from the artist who changed the way children's books are illustrated. Leafing through Brian Wildsmith's stunning illustrations of animals from Alligator to Zebra is a charming way for children to learn the alphabet and a few facts about each of the animals. Brian Wildsmith is a winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Brian Wildsmith (1930-2016) was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, England, where, he says, "Everything was grey. There wasn't any colour. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..."

He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.

He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.

Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."

In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.

Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.

— Source

Reviews

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations to share with children. Each image worth framing.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the illustrations.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather straightforward alphabet book with an animal to represent each letter. Additional information about each animal is included at the back of the book.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyrighted in 2009 this is typical Brian Wildsmith style with brightly detailed animals, some common and a number on not so common in an abc format.
A nice touch is a four page appendix with a thumbnail sketch of each of the animal ranging from the well known whale and llama to that not so well known numbat and genet.

[Cemeread]

Amazing Animal Alphabet is one of the few alphabet books that shows both the upper case and lower case of each lettter. Each page of this book shows both cases in the upper corner and the animal name in the bottom corner with a realistic and colorful depiction of the animal in the center. The backgrounds are mostly one color to compliment the animal. An additional bonus are the animal facts pages at the end. This will be useful when your child asks about an animal you might not know anything about. Don't worry, it's all very simple and on a young child's level, so if you read these pages before reading the book with your child he/she will be amazed by how much you know.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This alphabet book has gorgeous paintings on each page. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a different animal. The author really worked to find different and unique animals, particularly for some of the more difficult letters. There are two informational pages in the back that give a brief blurb on each animal. This was especially useful for the animals I had never heard of before.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Award winning illustrator Brian Wildsmith writes a full Alphabet book starting with Alligator and ending with Zebra. A charming way for children to learn the alphabet and a few facts about each of the animals in the back of the book.

[Rosaura Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ABC Book teaches the letters as well as the names of animals for each letter. This is a great book for my English Language Learners of all ages. As an activity I would have the students name other animals for each of the letters in the alphabet.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of my favorite alphabet books. Brian Wildsmith has a beautiful illustration and an interesting animal for each letter.