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Alpha Beta Chowder
This ode to the alphabet is wickedly funny, smart, and saucy and will have kids saying ABC, again please, you brigand!This wry and winsome picture book is a spicy alphabet soup indeed! With each letter-centric verse introducing you to characters like noisome Naomi (nervy as a newt), King Kang (the killer kangaroo who plays kazoo), and even the lovey-dovey lunatic from Lvov, you’ll never get bored learning that “B” is for “Belligerent Bear” instead of “balloon” or “ball”! With language that tickles with alliteration and keen wit, and drawings that gleefully capture western melodrama, domestic disasters, near-death by piano lessons, and excruciating concertina concerts, this classic Steig & Steig alphabet book is a feast for eyes and ears alike.
48 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1992
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 9, 2016
This ABC poem book was clever, witty, and funny. It introduces new words to the reader with pronouncing them adding extra fun.
September 1, 2016
Loved it! So funny and witty and clever.
June 29, 2020
Lots of fun vocabulary. Loved the rhymes: bric-a-brac with ipecac and offish with crawfish. Genius.
May 23, 2022
Loved it
November 10, 2018
Two very talented authors with a twisted sense of humor. The book appealed to my older elementary readers.
May 1, 2023
Rounded up for illustrations.
February 26, 2015
The book "Alpha Beta Chowder" by Jeanne Steig with illustrations by William Steig is a alphabet poetry book. There are 26 letters that have their own poem themed around that tells a story, such as "Bellicose Brigand vs. Belligerent Bear" and "Shipwrecked Sailors Salvage Stilton." This book uses a lot of unique and complex words which make the book more entertaining to read aloud and help students expand their vocabulary. Children would not be able to recognize words such as "brigand", but the picture shown with the text shows a pirate, so students are able to make the connection that a brigand is someone with similar qualities, like a robber. The illustrations in this book appear to be created with pastel watercolors outlined in black which makes the book feel a bit dated. I thought the pictures correlated well with the different stories and acted as good clues that could help children learn what the difficult words that they do not recognize mean. I would use this book with my students to help them with the alphabet and to improve their overall vocabulary. This book would be good to use for the 5-8 years old.
October 20, 2017
An A-Z book of poetry with a different poem devoted to and fully saturated with each letter.
The vocabulary used in this poetry collection is quite high. Have a dictionary on hand when reading it with kids. Even those with the highest reading levels will probably run into a new word (dirndl) or five. (How about cadenza, credenza, brigand, ipecac, or irascibility? And there's more where those came from.) All of the poems are rhyming, but they do take different forms. And if you're covering alliteration or consonance, you could definitely use this for examples. Jeanne Steig packed as many appearances of the letter emphasized in each poem as possible (so some of them also end up being tongue twisters). Every once in a while a poem has a slightly darker humor (like the one for R about a Western gun duel) so you might want to screen these before reading them to little kids. I think the whole thing is best suited to a middle grade audience.
Notes on content: No language or sexual issues. There is a poem about a Western gun duel that results in a death, and another about a shipwreck which only has two survivors. No gory pictures, but fatalities are mentioned.
The vocabulary used in this poetry collection is quite high. Have a dictionary on hand when reading it with kids. Even those with the highest reading levels will probably run into a new word (dirndl) or five. (How about cadenza, credenza, brigand, ipecac, or irascibility? And there's more where those came from.) All of the poems are rhyming, but they do take different forms. And if you're covering alliteration or consonance, you could definitely use this for examples. Jeanne Steig packed as many appearances of the letter emphasized in each poem as possible (so some of them also end up being tongue twisters). Every once in a while a poem has a slightly darker humor (like the one for R about a Western gun duel) so you might want to screen these before reading them to little kids. I think the whole thing is best suited to a middle grade audience.
Notes on content: No language or sexual issues. There is a poem about a Western gun duel that results in a death, and another about a shipwreck which only has two survivors. No gory pictures, but fatalities are mentioned.
December 3, 2012
This book is a creative example of an alphabet book. It uses each letter in the alphabet to write poems using words starting with the letter. Can be used as a work station for children having trouble with letter recognition. I would have them read the poems of the letters they are struggling to distinguish, and then they can create their own poems.
March 18, 2009
An amusing ABC book with poems and accompanying illustrations for each letter of the alphabet such as this poem for ‘L’:
“Lovey Dovey”
A lunatic living in Lvov
Looked long at a lone turtledovel.
“Though limp and lackluster,
She’s no feather duster,”
Crowed he. “La-di-da, I’m in love!”
“Lovey Dovey”
A lunatic living in Lvov
Looked long at a lone turtledovel.
“Though limp and lackluster,
She’s no feather duster,”
Crowed he. “La-di-da, I’m in love!”
November 10, 2012
fun book.. saw his work at Norman Rockwell Gallery
January 5, 2016
This is quite the treasure trove for word lovers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews