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Brian Wildsmith's A B C
Paintings done in exciting colors illustrate the letters in this unusual alphabet book
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
56 pages, Library Binding
First published December 1, 1962
2 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Brian Wildsmith
250 books54 followersBrian 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
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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 26, 2020
Wonderful illustrations show a fun mix of musical instruments and animals. Really attractive pictures.
Read on open library.
Read on open library.
March 22, 2017
Yeah, ok, I do appreciate the inclusion of both upper and lower-case. And the omission, for clarity and punch, of extra words (such as 'is for'). But I've figured out that I'm just not a fan of Wildsmith's art. You might be, so don't mind my rating.
July 1, 2025
Colorful pictures showing things that begin with each letter of the alphabet.
Watch my reel for ABC time and our family favorites.
Ages: 0 - 4
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
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Watch my reel for ABC time and our family favorites.
Ages: 0 - 4
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books.
I have an Instagram account that’s pretty bookishly unique too!
November 22, 2013
My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library last week. He loves it so much, he keeps hiding it under his bed. It will mysteriously appear at our nightly story time.
I love this book because my son can "read" almost all of it. It is the "iguana" that trips him up. And the unicorn, but that's not surprising because we so seldom see a unicorn around here.
The illustrations are sumptuous -- rich, colorful, textured, dimensional and, ever so slightly, psychedelic in an early 1960s sort of way.
If I had discovered this book a year or so sooner, I would have definitely tried to find a copy of our own. I'm only hesitating now because I feel he will outgrow it faster than I can track down a copy.
I love this book because my son can "read" almost all of it. It is the "iguana" that trips him up. And the unicorn, but that's not surprising because we so seldom see a unicorn around here.
The illustrations are sumptuous -- rich, colorful, textured, dimensional and, ever so slightly, psychedelic in an early 1960s sort of way.
If I had discovered this book a year or so sooner, I would have definitely tried to find a copy of our own. I'm only hesitating now because I feel he will outgrow it faster than I can track down a copy.
June 12, 2022
Published in 1962 this Wildsmith title won the Kate Greenaway medal in GreatBritain which is comparable to the Caldecott medal in the United States.
Wildsmith loves bright colors as do I. Upon looking at this title for thr third or fourth time I was struck by the accessibility of the format for preschoolers and reluctant readers to learn. Each letter receives a double page spread with the illustration on the right just the object like a cat, a mouse, or a rooster. On the left is only the word for the illustrated object written twice. Yes twice, once in lower case letters and once in capital letters. This title seems to be useful for basic reading instruction while a child sees beautiful illustrations. Only nine illustrations are something other than animals.
Wildsmith loves bright colors as do I. Upon looking at this title for thr third or fourth time I was struck by the accessibility of the format for preschoolers and reluctant readers to learn. Each letter receives a double page spread with the illustration on the right just the object like a cat, a mouse, or a rooster. On the left is only the word for the illustrated object written twice. Yes twice, once in lower case letters and once in capital letters. This title seems to be useful for basic reading instruction while a child sees beautiful illustrations. Only nine illustrations are something other than animals.
November 9, 2024
Beginning with A for apple, ending with Z for zebra, this books presents an object for each letter. The word is printed twice -- once in lower case, once in upper case -- with the object drawn on the facing page.
The colors are dark, but the objects are clearly what they are supposed to be, and present a change from the usual presentation in children's books. The pictures and printing are large enough to present to a group of children.
The colors are dark, but the objects are clearly what they are supposed to be, and present a change from the usual presentation in children's books. The pictures and printing are large enough to present to a group of children.
February 19, 2020
I accidentally got the Spanish version of this book from the library, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the pictures and trying to read the simple words.
September 6, 2012
This book is I believe from the 1960's, however, it is still to this day a very good ABC book. It uses both the Upper case and lower case letters to spell out words. For instances, elephant and ELEPHANT and then a big picture of a beautiful elephant is on the opposite page. I really like the book for children because it uses different "A is for...and b is for..." than normal ABC books. Like K which in this book is for Kettle, I is for Iguana, and my absolute favorite U is for unicorn! The book also helps with spelling since the word is spelled out on each page in bright colors. And the artwork is really unique and the pages are nice bright colors. It’s very visually pleasing. I highly recommend this book for beginner readers and those learning their ABC's. It’s a fun book and I think the children will get a kick out of the words and pictures.
October 11, 2016
Idiosyncratic ABC book featuring mostly animals.
Boring ABC book. The images are weirdly stylized and possibly oil paintings. Every page is a letter and an image of something that starts with that letter. They are almost all animals, with the bizarre exception of Q, which is a queen (okay, so that's technically an animal) instead of say, a quail. N is a nest of eggs, which is animal-related. V is a violin and X is a xylophone. Everything else is animals. You would think that he could have thought of some kind of animal for V. This is just weird. It's a weird book. It's kind of arty. I don't know why it won a medal. I'm not all that impressed. The art is unique, I guess. It's not super-realistic. It's not bad. It's idiosyncratic.
For more children's book reviews, check my website at http://www.drttmk.com.
Boring ABC book. The images are weirdly stylized and possibly oil paintings. Every page is a letter and an image of something that starts with that letter. They are almost all animals, with the bizarre exception of Q, which is a queen (okay, so that's technically an animal) instead of say, a quail. N is a nest of eggs, which is animal-related. V is a violin and X is a xylophone. Everything else is animals. You would think that he could have thought of some kind of animal for V. This is just weird. It's a weird book. It's kind of arty. I don't know why it won a medal. I'm not all that impressed. The art is unique, I guess. It's not super-realistic. It's not bad. It's idiosyncratic.
For more children's book reviews, check my website at http://www.drttmk.com.
March 11, 2012
This book has lasted as a favorite of parents, teachers, and children for generations and it's easy to see why. Each page explodes with color and simple text. On the left page is the word, on the right is the illustration. The word appears twice; once in all capital letters and one in all lowercase letters. The artwork is worthy of hanging in any gallery and if one could bear to take apart this book (gasp!), the pictures would be a perfect addition to a nursery or playroom.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Brian Wildsmith's 'ABC' a classic alphabet book for everyone - San Francisco Fiction' | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/fiction-in-sa...
Continue reading on Examiner.com Brian Wildsmith's 'ABC' a classic alphabet book for everyone - San Francisco Fiction' | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/fiction-in-sa...
January 27, 2015
Brian Wildsmith has truly outdone himself with the colorful illustrations. Brian Wildsmith goes through the alphabet A-Z with a page of capitalized and lowercase words accompanied by an amazing illustration. He uses very challenging words, but children can refer to the picture. 4-6 year love the drawings and the opportunity to identify lowercase and uppercase letters. What sets this ABC book apart is the first letter in the word is highlighted in a different color. That ways students know they are looking at the letter F in the word fish.
August 9, 2011
I love this ABC book. It has a painting of a single object and the word written twice, once capitalized, once small case. The paintings are vibrant, unusual, some realistic, some strange, but always full of life. I love the elephant.
February 8, 2009
Very pretty. I like this one for and older child--one who can easily identify the pictures and letters and learn to read the words.
(the book shows a picture, a letter, and a word)
(the book shows a picture, a letter, and a word)
September 16, 2010
I really like Wildsmith's painting style and use of colors.
February 4, 2011
A beautifully illustrated ABC book by famed children's book illustrator Brian Wildsmith. It's a simple book with one image per page.
May 27, 2012
Very nice pictures for A B C book. My 3 year old can recognize most of the animals.
May 21, 2012
Kate Greenaway Award
July 31, 2013
Love the colors!
January 18, 2014
Alphabet
Beautiful illustrations
Beautiful illustrations
February 28, 2016
Originally published in Great Britain in 1962. Earned the 1963 Kate Greenaway Award (comparable to the Caldecott Medal in the U.S.).
July 3, 2014
Great illustrations!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews