Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet

Rating:
Summary: Rhymes + Sea Life + Cut Paper = An Enjoyable Read-Aloud Book
Review: For parents of preschool-age children, and fans of cut-paper art, "Into the A, B, Sea" represents a satisfying experience. I believe Steve Jenkins represents one of the most successful artists of cut-paper collages. The rhymes are simple, and the pictures focus on the shapes and textures of the animals without any clutter. "Into the A, B, Sea" ranks up there with some other excellent titles by Mr. Jenkins including "Biggest, Strongest, Fastest"; "The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest"; and "What Do You do When Something Wants to Eat You". These other titles, by Mr. Jenkins alone, pack more information/education into each page. Mr. Jenkins has collaborated with more extensive poetry selections in "This Big Sky". Other books in this vein--combining bright images and simple verse, although not cut-paper, would be "In the Tall, Tall Grass" and "In the Small, Small Pond", both by Denise Fleming, "Baboon" by Kate Banks, and, of course, "On the Day you Were Born" by Debra Frasier. One of my most favorite read-aloud, cut-paper books is "Mouse Mess" by Linnea Asplind Riley. My first daughter adored this book as a preschooler, and had all the text memorized by her 3rd year.

Rating:
Summary: Colorful, simple, appealing
Review: I teach in primary classroom and we do a unit on oceans every year. This book is a terrific addition to the unit because the illustrations are simple yet captivating. The rhyming text works well in the primary classroom too. I especially like the information at the end of the book - useful facts that allow the reader to go further.