Picture This: ALPHABATICS: The Art of the Alphabet

Grades K-6: 

Come see how picture book illustrators have transformed ordinary ABC’s (and D’s & Z’s!) 

into wonderful shapes and magical creatures, then we’ll do the same.  

Join us for a romp through some amazingly original alphabet books -- then turn ordinary ABC's into some fantastic creations of your own!  To get an idea what it is all about, 

click to see Bembo’s amazingly clever alphabet Zoo.

• As children arrive, have them browse a display of alphabet books (including those below)
• Open with Z is for Moose (Bingham) – thinking about the alphabet differently!
• Depending on the age of the group, can share Alphabetical Order: How the Alphabet Began (411 Sam) – show specific pages: from drawings to letters, the first alphabets, the worlds alphabets, other alphabets, artists and alphabets (optional: could also relate to concrete poetry e.g. A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems (811.008 POK), Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building (Hale), Meow Ruff (Sidman), A Dazzling Display of Dogs (811.54 FRA))
• Looking at letters imaginatively --  share some of these: The Graphic Alphabet (Pelletier), The Turn Around Upside Down Alphabet Book (Ernst), Alphabatics (McDonald), Alphabet Under Construction (Fleming), Gone Wild (591.68 MCL),  Take Away the A (Escoffier), ABC3D: Pop Up (Bataille) -- show How to Make Super Pop-Ups (745.592 Irvine) and other pop-up design books.
• Booktalk: On Beyond Zebra (Dr. Seuss) – if care to make up a new letter!, The Butterfly Book (598.789 SAN) – alphabets in nature, ABC NYC (Dugan) – seeing letters in the city, Alphab’art (Guery) – hidden letters in paintings, I Spy: An Alphabet in Art (Micklethwait), If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet  (McGuirk),  Handmade Alphabet (Rankin),
• Watch Bembo’s Zoo (on Youtube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPY-FZT9ME8
• Craft: “Creative Alphabatics” (children select a letter and play with the design inspired by the books they've seen).  Materials: paper, markers, pencils, rulers, scissors, construction paper scraps, glue, google eyes, any other materials you care to give them (feathers, wallpaper scraps, etc.)

http://www.tutorial9.net/downloads/not-your-usual-characters-30-amazing-alphabet-recreations/ -- more great alphabet ideas 

Bibliographies:

http://childrensbooksguide.com/alphabet

http://bookforthatkids.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-to-z-books-for-back-to-school.html

4.2014