Zuckerman goes through the alphabet, using photographs to illustrate a creature (or multiple creatures in some cases) for each letter. Usually the letter is presented on one page, with a close-up of an animal on the facing page. The next two-page spread consists of the identification of the animal(s) and a photo that shows more of the animal than the close-up did.I enjoyed this book through the letter "c"... and then it started to lose me. The animal chosen for "D" was a dove, which is fine, except that the photos chosen were less than compelling and were almost identical. Plus, a white bird on a white background is not really a great idea aesthetically. The choices of "nocturnal" and "underwater" for "N" and "U" also bothered me. Most of the letters were given one specific animal, so these just seemed out of place. "Quills" also bugged me - that is not an animal, and there are animals that begin with "Q" that could have been used instead. And using "Oryx" for "X" really upset me. There are animals that begin with "x," so if you're going to pick an obscure animal to illustrate the letter, why not pick one of those? And "yellow canary" for "Y"... seriously? You couldn't do better than that?Ok, so in case you can't tell, I was not a fan of this book. The general idea of it is fine, but the execution was not impressive. If Zuckerman were only the author of this book, he would have little call for pride in his accomplishment; the entire text of the book consists of less than fifty words, all of which are simply labels to the photographs (though I suppose, if you count the glossary at the end, we might up that to about four hundred.) But it's not the text that draws you to the book. It's the photographs. They are, in a word, brilliant. Alive. Vivid. A surprise here and there. (What does he use for "u", you might ask. A surprise.)So a good review of this book might simply be a series of photographs, with an accompanying label. Perhaps it might start like this:Aa astonishingBb breathtaking...Okay, you get the idea. Marvelous work.
What do You think about Creature ABC (2009)?
Two 2-page spreads of beautiful photographs of animals accompany each letter. Simple but engaging.
—Carla
Fantastic photography on plain white backgrounds. A visual delight. Lots of wow factor.
—Slade
Wonderful alphabet book that has various photographs of animals for each letter.
—kkemp21
We are big ABC book fans at my house. This one was a huge hit tonight.
—Shazz
I LOVE the photographs in this book!!!!! AMAZING!!!!
—Thegeekychick01
