Scan barcode
jaimiestarshine's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite author, and one of my favorite illustrators. Definitely not your traditional alphabet, so if you're actually trying to teach the alphabet to a child I wouldn't recommend it. Like Gaiman and Grimly's other works it is not for the faint of heart and is a bit grim and gloomy. The detail of the illustrations is beautiful and the adventure is enticing.
luann's review against another edition
2.0
This is definitely not an alphabet book for younger readers! In fact, I'm very unsure which age group this book is meant for. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a traditional alphabet book. I think this is pretty much only for Neil Gaiman fans.
I mostly liked the clever rhyming text that worked its way through the alphabet with some unconventional bits, such as: "C is the way that we find and we look." The lines for "L" made me chuckle, although once again I think it's not for younger children.
The illustrations didn't thrill me, and they are really too dark for young children. I read through it a second time and noticed alphabetical details on each page that I hadn't noticed the first time through, which I did like.
This is a clever and VERY different alphabet book that not everyone would enjoy.
I mostly liked the clever rhyming text that worked its way through the alphabet with some unconventional bits, such as: "C is the way that we find and we look." The lines for "L" made me chuckle, although once again I think it's not for younger children.
The illustrations didn't thrill me, and they are really too dark for young children. I read through it a second time and noticed alphabetical details on each page that I hadn't noticed the first time through, which I did like.
This is a clever and VERY different alphabet book that not everyone would enjoy.
brucefarrar's review against another edition
3.0
A girl and a boy sneak out of the house to embark, at A, on an underground river adventure encountering many monstrous villains before returning safely at Z. Grimly’s suitably humorously ghoulish illustrations complement Gaiman’s “thirteen ingenious but potentially disturbing rhyming couplets.”
a_little_shelf_absorbed's review against another edition
5.0
Delightfully spooky and reminded me of a Tim Burton film.
isalavinia's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars to [a:Gris Grimly|1732726|Gris Grimly|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1361363165p2/1732726.jpg]'s wonderful illustrations.
I'm sorry to say but Gaiman seems to have put no effort into this...
arizer's review against another edition
4.0
Gaiman (2008) writes, “A is for Always, that’s where we embark,” (p. 1). It’s true, this is where we embark into a dark world of The Dangerous Alphabet. In rhyming couplets, Gaiman and Grimly depict two kid’s decent into the darker side of their world, encountering numerous monsters and bad guys alike.
This book, being an alphabet book, lacks the textual substance to carry the story alone. Not once in the text does it introduce the two children and their pet gazelle nor the monsters depicted in the illustrations. But, it works. The sentences hold just enough action for the reader to be able to tell that it’s exactly the thing these troublemaking kids would do. Grimly builds these characters out of nothing, but they’re a perfect fit for the world Gaiman created with words. The setting is also built to fit the words. It becomes a sewer filled with creatures and villains for the children to encounter. The illustrations provide context for the words above. The tone is captured as well. The darker focus of the text is directly reflected in the rough, scratchy illustrations below it.
Physically, this book is longer horizontally than most, but with the story it makes sense. In the book, the un-named children embark on a boat trip through the darker side of what appears to be the sewers of their hometown. The water they are floating on covers the bottom of almost every page. The length of it makes sense then, to draw the eye down the water and to the boat, and on to the next page. Again and again it uses its length to keep the story and the characters moving onto the next page. The font matches the tone as well. It appears as a scratchy and stark black against the yellow background. Bold and eye catching amongst all of the little details throughout the pages. The author also made a point to capitalize both times the letter appears for that page in the alphabet. For example, Gaiman (2009) writes, “D is for Diamonds, the bait on the hook,” (p. 5). The letter emphasized for that page is also the letter capitalized within the sentence, drawing attention to it. Physically, the decisions made in regarding this book make sense in keeping with the tone and theme of the story within.
Visually, Grimly uses water color and cartoon drawings to depict the scene. The background is a consistent dirty yellow, adding to the creepy vibe. The water is also colored similarly, giving it a gross and garbage filled quality. Throughout the entire book, minimal color is used. Yellows for the background and water, blacks and grays for the children’s clothing and additional animals or characters. The only other color present is red, but it’s a dulled down and muted red. Not the vibrant coloring usually seen in children’s books. Pages three and four are good examples of this. On three, the children appear from beneath a tunnel. Harshly drawn bats fly overhead. A vulture perches on the ledge of a barrel. Rough, sketch lines stem out of its body. The line work throughout the page isn’t steady, there’s a shaky quality to them. Page four gives us a closer look at the children. They are drawn with heavy contrast. Their faces are the lightest part of the page, their eyes, eyebrows, and clothing is dark. The only hint of color on them at all is a small circle of red blush on their cheeks, which would normally liven them up, but in this illustration, it makes them look washed out and pale. The cartoon style makes this rougher style an eerie feel.
The text and illustrations work together to create exactly what this book’s title advertises. They create a dangerous world to explore through the alphabet. The arrangement of the rhyming couplet works, it keeps the tone just light enough for children while maintaining the dark tone of the images below. The only problem with the book is, to maintain the rhyming, the book changes the letters v and w around so they’re out of order. For a book teaching the alphabet, this could get confusing. However, the word choice and the tone suggests the book would be better suited for slightly older children. It uses words like “vile”, “muffled”, and “discreet” words targeted for an older audience. All in all, the text and the images put forth by Gaiman and Grimly depict exactly what is advertised, a dangerous alphabet. They work together to put forth a world where the alphabet takes them on a dangerous, and entertaining journey.
This book, being an alphabet book, lacks the textual substance to carry the story alone. Not once in the text does it introduce the two children and their pet gazelle nor the monsters depicted in the illustrations. But, it works. The sentences hold just enough action for the reader to be able to tell that it’s exactly the thing these troublemaking kids would do. Grimly builds these characters out of nothing, but they’re a perfect fit for the world Gaiman created with words. The setting is also built to fit the words. It becomes a sewer filled with creatures and villains for the children to encounter. The illustrations provide context for the words above. The tone is captured as well. The darker focus of the text is directly reflected in the rough, scratchy illustrations below it.
Physically, this book is longer horizontally than most, but with the story it makes sense. In the book, the un-named children embark on a boat trip through the darker side of what appears to be the sewers of their hometown. The water they are floating on covers the bottom of almost every page. The length of it makes sense then, to draw the eye down the water and to the boat, and on to the next page. Again and again it uses its length to keep the story and the characters moving onto the next page. The font matches the tone as well. It appears as a scratchy and stark black against the yellow background. Bold and eye catching amongst all of the little details throughout the pages. The author also made a point to capitalize both times the letter appears for that page in the alphabet. For example, Gaiman (2009) writes, “D is for Diamonds, the bait on the hook,” (p. 5). The letter emphasized for that page is also the letter capitalized within the sentence, drawing attention to it. Physically, the decisions made in regarding this book make sense in keeping with the tone and theme of the story within.
Visually, Grimly uses water color and cartoon drawings to depict the scene. The background is a consistent dirty yellow, adding to the creepy vibe. The water is also colored similarly, giving it a gross and garbage filled quality. Throughout the entire book, minimal color is used. Yellows for the background and water, blacks and grays for the children’s clothing and additional animals or characters. The only other color present is red, but it’s a dulled down and muted red. Not the vibrant coloring usually seen in children’s books. Pages three and four are good examples of this. On three, the children appear from beneath a tunnel. Harshly drawn bats fly overhead. A vulture perches on the ledge of a barrel. Rough, sketch lines stem out of its body. The line work throughout the page isn’t steady, there’s a shaky quality to them. Page four gives us a closer look at the children. They are drawn with heavy contrast. Their faces are the lightest part of the page, their eyes, eyebrows, and clothing is dark. The only hint of color on them at all is a small circle of red blush on their cheeks, which would normally liven them up, but in this illustration, it makes them look washed out and pale. The cartoon style makes this rougher style an eerie feel.
The text and illustrations work together to create exactly what this book’s title advertises. They create a dangerous world to explore through the alphabet. The arrangement of the rhyming couplet works, it keeps the tone just light enough for children while maintaining the dark tone of the images below. The only problem with the book is, to maintain the rhyming, the book changes the letters v and w around so they’re out of order. For a book teaching the alphabet, this could get confusing. However, the word choice and the tone suggests the book would be better suited for slightly older children. It uses words like “vile”, “muffled”, and “discreet” words targeted for an older audience. All in all, the text and the images put forth by Gaiman and Grimly depict exactly what is advertised, a dangerous alphabet. They work together to put forth a world where the alphabet takes them on a dangerous, and entertaining journey.
alexctelander's review against another edition
4.0
THE DANGEROUS ALPHABET BY NEIL GAIMAN AND GRIS GRIMLY: A is for the author and artist of this book, Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly. B is for the beautiful artwork on the pages that make you smile. C is for the creative design of The Dangerous Alphabet, which is impressive and astonishing. D is for the descriptive writing of Neil Gaiman, which keeps you turning every page. E is for the exiting story about the two children and their gazelle. F is for the funny things that happen in this book that make you laugh. G is for Gris Grimly who has done artwork for thirteen books, including this one. H is for the happy ending that almost wasn’t. I is for the impressive ways the children keep getting away. J is for the jumping cute gazelle who also gets away. K is for the kiss that’s in the middle of this book. L is for the big letters on each page that Gaiman uses to tell the story. M is for the monsters, the scary monsters that are everywhere in The Dangerous Alphabet. N is for the narrow escapes, as the children slip through the monsters’ fingers. O is for ordinary, which this story is not by any means. P is for the pretty gazelle again, because she’s so cute. Q is for the quandary that the children find themselves in in this story. R is for racing, as the children race across the pages, from beginning to end. S is for the silly but fun way this story and review are told. T is for the terrible things that the monsters do and almost do. U is for the unbelievable way the children must go to make it to the end. V is for the vim of the characters in this book; they are defiant and unstoppable. W is for wary, which you must be when reading The Dangerous Alphabet. X marks the spot near the end. Y is for your yell of joy when the children and the gazelle get away. Z is for the ZZZs everyone needs after this great adventure is finally over.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
More...