ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet

by Juana Medina

A is for angel hair acrobat
M is for Macaroni the Magician
and T is for tortellini trapeze artist.

It's an ABC circus that's good enough to eat!

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Young Adult, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Juana Medina was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. She is the illustrator of Smick! by Doreen Cronin and the author-illustrator of One Big Salad. Juana Medina has studied and taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and now teaches at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Stephanie (Reading is Better With Cupcakes) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not too impressed with this book over all. Then again I am not a huge pasta lover (or Italian food lover for that matter) and I have also never really been a big fan of the circus. Both of which are the main ideas behind this book.

It is a cute concept though. The pasta is used throughout the book to help illustrate the pictures and it definitely will introduce the littles to words that they may not have heard before (such as the pasta types name).

This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do NOT read this book while you are hungry. And gluten-free :(

[emyrose8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of alliteration and kinds of pasta! And circus performers. I had no idea there were so many pastas!

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most kids eat pasta and love it--in fact, I have known kids who eat nothing BUT pasta pretty much.
So this book should have wild appeal.

Quibbles? Not everyone is an expert on Italian, so a pronunciation guide in the back would have been of more use than a recipe--and the recipe given might be a jump for kids whose pasta knowledge doesn't go far beyond Kraft Mac and Cheese, or basic spaghetti. And as much as my family loves peccorino (and we do), there are pastas like penne or pappardelle that could have been used for the letter "p." Still, American supermarkets have come a long way in terms of pastas offered, and perhaps this will inspire families to make a trip to the grocery store, or even to try a pasta art project.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea, but while some were cute, some really seemed forced. Or al dente, if you will.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most kids wouldn’t know or be interested in all of the various types of pasta. Even I lost interest. Cute illustrations though.

[Emily]

Two things: this book made me hungry and I couldn't pronounce some of the pasta names.

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I believe that some of my harshness is a matter of taste, so let me go on the record as admitting that before I say I thought the book was stupid and ugly.

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute, although now that Barnum & Bailey have called it quits, will kids know what's going on? May buy for a foodie friend's sons.

[Annie Cheesman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love pasta, so reading this book made me very happy to read the alphabet through pasta. The cover kind of creeped me out because of all the small heads scared me instead of people. As a young child the drawing would not scare me but as an adult reading this book it is odd. I love the pasta "man" on the cover! It is very childish and so cute for children to look at to start the alphabet book. I really enjoy the first two pages full of pasta characters! These two first pages give you a glimpse of all the book is going to talk about, which is pasta! Each page is so plain with the white background, but the smaller and bright colored pasta pictures really grab the reader's attention. I love how they incorporated all things pasta and circus-related characters like clowns and ballerinas in this book to grab young readers interests. I enjoy how each letter uses the same font and style so it does not confuse the reader and the reader can enjoy it all the same way, but it is unique with the different colors. I also really like how each different letter has its personality through actions and no pages are boring. Each letter is striking a pose or action, which is entertaining to look at as a reader. The only letter/page I think the illustrator could have elaborated more on was the magician. The magician looks like he is asleep and does not know how to use the hat to perform a magic trick. Each drawing for the different letters is so child-like and colorful. My favorite letter and page is Q because they use the Quentin quadrucci slices as the hair on the page for the character. It was a nice touch for the author to add a recipe in the back of a pasta dish. I feel like that decision was very beneficial because I was hungry for pasta after reading this alphabet book.

[Macy Crump · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the same author as "1 Big Salad," this ABC book has a very similar concept of tying food in this case, different forms of pasta, to familiar pictures making them easier to understand. I love the illustrations in this picture book, they incorporate real pictures of pasta into doodle drawings which compares the realistic noodles to something easy and fun. But, unlike healthy foods, knowing twenty six different types of pasta isn't as essential. If one was working with students who had an Italian heritage, or if you were doing an entire lesson on pasta, then this book might be helpful. This book would not be helpful to teach the alphabet because most of the pastas are difficult for most adults to pronounce, so it couldn't be used for that academic purpose. The idea for this book is very unique and well thought out, because I didn't even know there were that many types of pasta. But, it misses the mark because it truly lacks educational value. The illustrations are fun and entertaining, and it's interesting to look at pasta in such a unique light. This book would work for upper elementary aged students who already knew and understood the alphabet. The pasta recipe at the end of the story is a nice touch as well.

[Maddy Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABC Pasta by Julia Medina is a very interesting and different take on your stereotypical alphabet book. Each letter of the alphabet corresponds to a different type of pasta noodle or ingredient that one would use to make a pasta dish. The letters also have a noun/adjective attached that somehow relate them to the Circus, which I found very creative and it added another element to the book. Some of my favorites were T, the tortellini trapeze trio, K, the kale pasta knife thrower, and F, the fettuccine fire-eaters. The illustrations were so fun and well done. What I enjoyed most was that each picture itself was a sketch, but a real-life image of the pasta or pasta ingredient was worked into the character. The fettuccine fire-eaters were sketches of people, and the "fire" coming out of their mouths was actually a picture of a pile of fettuccine... how creative! I overall really liked this book, and could imagine using it in a 2nd grade classroom setting. The pasta types and adjectives are complex, so I would use this as a read aloud so the students could understand it.

[Jason Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a book that uses pasta ingredients to describe the alphabet. If you are looking for something more than you might be disappointed. This would be a great book for littler kids when using fun shapes and illustrations to describe the alphabet. The illustrations are featured with real food pictures, and the drawings have the full bleed page effect, which adds to the presentation...but it still lacks something in my opinion. I would have liked less straight alphabet description and maybe some more storytelling. Also I feel that it could be tough to explain what the more confusing pasta ingredients could be. It is an ok book if you are wanting to teach and use a funny way to show the alphabet, but not much more than that.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: The ABCs with macaroni?

Why I Read This: It must have been on a list somewhere, because I'm not sure that I'd want to pick it up myself.

Review: The concept and execution of this book are both weird. (1) I like pasta as much as the next guy, but doing an ABC book about them is weird. (2) The illustrations are creepy. The book is illustrated except parts of the bodies of the different "A is for" people are made of pasta. (3) Most parents that I talk to want something like, "A is for apple" or "P is for pig". I have never been asked for something like, "P is for pecorino and parmigiano, plate spinners." How would a child relate that illustration to a letter?

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book with a related recipe gets an extra point with me! And who knew there were so many types of pasta? Basil and cheese help fulfill the 26-letter requirement.
Illustrations show photos of actual pasta with line drawings to complete the image for each letter.
Each letter in bold large font appear in the corner of a page, with a 3-5 word phrase of alliteration make each one sound yummy and fun.
The tiny images of the pasta on the endpages invite readers to remember each pasta, and to really stretch their memory, the phrase that goes with it!

[Cathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love alphabet books of all kinds, so this caught my eye. It's kind of an odd concept--having circus illustrations with various types of pasta or ingredients that go well with pasta--and yet it's really quite delightful. It takes some serious imagination and quirkiness to come up with a book like this! The alliteration for every letter of the alphabet is fun, and I liked the book a lot. However, I'm not sure that it would be that great for little kids. So many other things would be more visually and verbally appealing, I think. Oh, well...

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew there was an alphabet's worth of types of pasta? Rosas takes all sorts of pasta and transforms them into colorful characters that illustrate each letter of the alphabet using alliteration. The blend of photographs and drawings gives the illustrations a unique flavor (haha) and might inspire readers to try new kinds of pasta (or their hand at illustrating similarly) themselves.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A through Z all the performers in this circus have some type of pasta formed into the body of their cartoon like illustration. Lots of Italian names for the pasta, but after all it is pasta. I am still thinking about campanelle that was the swirled hat upon the clown's heads.
This title would be a fun one shared within the family preceded or followed by eating pasta of some of the shapes.

[Jacqi Coon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose this book because I liked the idea of using pasta to explain the alphabet. The book was hard for me to read so I would not use this in my classroom. The idea of the book is very creative, but some of the words are really challenging.

[Makenzie Dougherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book is trying to bring a new view on alphabet books. Incorporating real pastas and their pictures is cool way to get kids familiar with food, but the names were just too hard. The images were cool though!

[Kyle]

Medina uses a new way of thinking to teach the alphabet. She connects different pastas to each letter and has scribble type of drawing to accompany it. Each pasta/letter is a different acrobat in the circus.

[Katie Nash · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book was the best part. For a children’s book there are some hard words to pronounce. I would keep this in my library because it is fun to look at, but I wouldn’t do a read aloud or group reading with this book.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining is in the title and I have to agree! Very creative use of pasta in a picture book for young readers. Medina also shares a good sprinkling of unique words in the text. It's a fun ABC book about food. A simple recipe is also included in the back of the book.

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun counting book to use with preschool and early elementary

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alliterative walk through the alphabet featuring different types of pasta.

Digital illustrations combined with photographs. PreK-2.

[Ashleyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: ABC /Concept Picture Book

Alliterative pages depict noodles as circus acts. Cute and a new take on ABCs.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice use of art and photos.

[Orion Kopf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute but would have been good with just pasta names and shapes. A pronunciation guide would also help

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

an alliteration of a walk thru pasta, very fun for Italian families.