Alphamals A-Z

Reviews / Votes

From A for Armadillo to N for Newt and X for X-ray Tetra (it's a fish), Alphamals combines alphabet book with poetry and sophisticated printmaking, presenting a very attractive book that will inspire little ones with a love for the wondrous variety of the animal kingdom.

Graham Carter's high colour, graphic artwork captures the striking beauty of each animal, and the short but informative non-rhyming poems on each double page spread add an original element not often found in nature nonfiction. * BookTrust * See the natural world in a striking, lyrical and colourful new way in this beautifully illustrated A-Z of the animal kingdom. Artist and print-maker Graham Carter uses his bold and stylish prints to bring to glorious life animals of every shape, size and colour in a picture book featuring the gentle verse of Ruth Symons. There is an animal for every letter of the alphabet in this stunning collection of poems and prints. Graham Carter's Alphamals captures the strange and striking beauty of the animal kingdom, from the gauzy wings of a dragonfly to the chiselled jaw of a jaguar. With a read-aloud text and breathtaking art, this is an A-Z to mesmerise the whole family. Marvel at a manatee marine mammal floating in a blue lagoon, enjoy the vivid colours of a rhinoceros pawing the ground and follow the giraffe's long neck as he stretches into the treetops, grasping for leaves. Carter, who has been at the forefront of his industry for the last 16 years, uses his artistic and print-making skills to give children a visually and verbally exciting new perspective on animals and their habitats in a gorgeous book bulging with colour and form. A picture perfect gift for animal lovers of every age... -- Pam Norfolk * Lancashire Evening Post * There are numerous A-Z of animals books on the market, but the arresting illustrations in this, combined with the lyrical poem about each animal makes this one a special addition to the genre. -- Hannah Beckerman * The Huffington Post * This book is a real work of art, with stunning illustrations of every creature, faced by a lively and lyrical piece of text which perfectly captures the characteristics of each animal; the smaller pictures are just as worthy of attention as the big ones and the whole combines to bring us a beautiful book that goes far beyond being simply a picture book. There's an animal for every letter of the alphabet and the illustrations capture the strange and striking beauty of the animal kingdom, from the gauzy wings of a dragonfly to the chiselled jaw of a jaguar. A book for the whole family to share and enjoy. * Parents in Touch * There are alphabet books and there are animal books then there are books that manage to combine the two with great success, skills and artistry. This is what the editors at Big Picture Press look for and what they have found in Graham Carter's Alphamals.
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Not only has an animal been found for every letter of the alphabet, my favourite should really be A for Armadillo but I am rather taken by B for Bumblebee ... then of course there is the E for Elephant, J for Jaguar and so on. So far so good, not predictable but still animals children will recognise and perhaps know something about. However how familiar are you (or they) with M for Manatee (a sea cow that can be found floating in the sea where she chews grass), Q for Quoll (a night creature living in the forest and feasting on birds and beasts) or even U for Urial (a horned plain animal, a grass eater with a shaggy beard). Not quite last there is the X-Ray Tetra who swims the dark waters of the Amazon and his glassy scales reveal his backbone.
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Creativity is the highlight of this book for the mix of animals is marvellous, as are the mini poems and prints that accompany each animal. In just a few lines learn more about each of the 26 amazing animals and then marvel at the creative designs on the facing pages. See all in a new light, understand how strange and striking the animal kingdom is, read aloud or to yourself and be completely mesmerised. -- Louise Ellis-Barrett * Armadillo Magazine * You may have heard of an armadillo or an orangutan but if I asked you what a 'quoll' was, would you know the answer?
I didn't when I first browsed through Graham Carter's beautiful book Alphamals (alphabetical animals!) so I was fascinated to learn that it is a small but fierce creature that 'sleeps through the day then wakes at night. With a long, dark snout and speckled coat, he prowls the shady forest floor, feasting on birds and other beasts.'
Carter's book is an A to Z of animals, insects, birds and fish. Each double-page spread has, on the left side, a description of the creature (written in a stanza form) and on the right side, an illustration. The colours are gorgeous and inviting - 26 pieces of art within a children's book (there is only one creature per letter). Sometimes the exact details of the animals are a little unclear so perhaps it doesn't work as a reference book, but it is certainly something that is visually stunning while still having interesting information.
I showed the book to the children in my library and everyone pored over it. When we looked at the quoll it started off a conversation about nonsense animals (even though the quoll is real!) so we decided it would be good fun to invent an animals, either just by creating a whacky name from nowhere or by combining the names of different real animals. * Childtastic Books *