Alphabet City

Stephen T. Johnson's Caldecott Honor Book (1996) Alphabet City is a wordless book depicting paintings of scenes from urban life cleverly depict each of the letters of the alphabet. Each letter (and painting) has its own page, such as an "E" in a side view of a traffic light, an "M" in the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge, an "R" in the cracks in the sidewalk, and a "T" in the negative space between two tall buildings. The paintings are photo-realistic in style and view scenes from a variety of unique vantage points, some showing an entire landscape while others focus on a small detail. The large size of the book and the high-quality glossy paper display the paintings to full effect. Children who have newly learned their letters will enjoy showing off by spotting the letters "hidden" in the everyday settings and will likely begin spotting more letters in their own surroundings. There is a secondary message in this book about the prominence of language in our daily lives and that we are surrounded by letters and language.

My 5th graders enjoy this book. After "reading" this wordless book, we tour our school and observe the "alphabet school." It is amazing how many letters they find in the most obscure locations. The search continues for weeks. This is a great way to hone observational skills and attention to detail. Wonderful book.

In this book for children (no words except for the introduction), the artist finds settings throughout a typical city in which the letters of the alphabet can be seen in the buildings, streets, etc: a very fresh look at the alphabet that children will enjoy. The book was a 1996 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a children's book.

My second grade class loves this book even though they are way beyond learning the alphabet. It presents a new way to look at surroundings. I've seen children transfer this way of thinking by finding letters, patterns, and shapes in their world. Creative and fresh.

Alphabet City has an A In a construction sawhorse, B For an apartment, E for a traffic light and more A B C's. It is a wonderful example of how you can see your letters everywhere in the city!