Arlene Alda_Children's Books Reviews

Hello, Good-bye

"Exceptionally fine color photographs bring clarity as well as beauty to this book of opposites. Alda, whose previous concept books include Did You Say Pears? (2006) and Arlene Aldas 123 (1998), creates images that are striking in themselves and meaningful when paired with their opposites. Made of weathered brick, the old buildings on a canal contrast effectively with the new steel-and-glass skyscraper. An umbrella carried in a city rainstorm is wet, while its counterpart on a sunny beach is dry. At an outdoor market, the raspberries and blueberries are soft, while the pumpkins are hard. In the simple, effective layout, each page carries one well-composed photo with its identifying word or phrase. Opposite concepts are displayed on facing pages. The closing page briefly identifies the subject and site of each picture. This offers plenty of opportunities for interaction between young children and those reading to them. Preschool-Kindergarten."
Booklist

Iris Has A Virus

"Home sick with a stomach virus, Iris feels especially bad after her brother Doug seems less worried about her and more worried about missing their Grandpas upcoming weekend birthday. After resting through the week, Iris is finally better on Saturday, but on the way to visit Grandpa, the family has to turn back toward home: Doug has the bug now. Alda sensitively captures a kids viewpoint on illness, from the frustration of missing potential fun to the misery of doctors visits and dealing with a not-so-sympathetic sibling. The straightforward text is enlivened with occasional, if somewhat erratic, rhyming couplets (Her head was hot. / She threw up in pot), as well as a fancifully rendered dream spread that explores the meaning of bug. The colorful paper-collage illustrations incorporate whimsical perspectives and scenarios. Along with a basic description of what happens when a child suffers an illness, the story also includes elements such as a teachers discussion about hand-washing and Dads explanation of viruses, all of which can provide starting points to discuss precautions to avoid illness. Grades K-3."
Booklist

Here A Face, There A Face

With excellent photos interpreting the theme, this book is a pleasure to enjoy and to share with others.
Booklist

The artist behind the camera for Did You Say Pears? delivers another perky photo-essay that blends poetry, art and elements of traditional seek-and-find books. those who love seeing the ordinary in new ways, especially those who aren't yet ready for I Spy and Look-Alike titles, will welcome this entry.
Publishers Weekly

this will effectively spur young children to look more closely and imaginatively at their surroundings.
Kirkus Review

As most parents have experienced, the first visual skills that human infants develop is the ability to see color, shape, and recognize faces. Here a Face, There a Face cleverly taps into this ability and presents readers with a series of very clear, colourful and dynamic photographs of everyday items found both inside and outside of children's homes, and then challenges readers to find the hidden faces.The book is excellent for developing vocabulary that describes facial abilities and functions, like staring, glancing, looking, crying, growing (hair), shouting, whistling, etc.Don't be surprised, though, to find the book follows you and your young ones out into the real world as you start seeing faces in everything around you. Pure visual delight! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Canadian Review of Materials

Did You Say Pears?

"Homonyms and homophones have never been so much fun, or so beautifully photographed. Juxtapose the ocean's edge with arms in motion and you have 'If waves could have hands, like you and me...' What a perfect way to introduce the concept and encourage children to make some pairs (or pears) of their own."
Beth Puffer, Bank Street Bookstore, New York, NY

From Booklist
"K-Gr. 3. A marvelously imaginative pairing (sorry) of homonyms (words that sound alike but have different meanings and the same spelling) and homophones (words that sound alike but have different meanings and different spellings), wrapped up in a rhyme of amazingly few words and terrific offbeat photographs. "If a pitcher / could pour" reads the text on a spread showing a boy pitching a baseball to a girl batter opposite a photograph of a perfectly luscious blue china water pitcher. "And glasses / could see" is illustrated by photos of clear glass and colored plastic tumblers opposite a rosy rag doll wearing shades. "If the sun / could laugh" pairs a sunset with a giggling, bouncing baby boy, and the "blew" of blowing out birthday candles is matched with a perfect expanse of cloudless blue sky. Accomplished author and photographer Alda is married to the actor Alan Alda and impishly notes on the back cover copy that "they have been a pair for many years."
GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved

each photograph is notable for its eye appeal, its freshness, and each verbal sally provokes an aha! moment.
The Globe and Mail

a luscious welcome to the visual and mind-tickling delights of language. Repeated viewings only reveal in more and more detail just how careful, clever and professional this seemingly simple picture book is a perfect concept and a happy diversion, too.
The Toronto Star

Book of ZZZs

Alda's (Arlene Alda's ABC) paper-over-board collection of color photographs surveys the animal kingdom (plus a few humans) and finds a common bond: snoozing. A single line of text per page serves as a kind of caption to echo each picture's content. "All creatures sleep," Alda begins, showing a zonked out pig, his pink ear serving as a nightshade. "Some stand up..." (a curlicued flamingo balances on one leg), "others s-t-r-e-t-c-h out" (a billy goat basks in the sun). The animal pictures-which also include a group of the always crowd-pleasing meerkats-are certain to elicit "Ahhhs" from youngsters, while the human kids caught in repose, such as one girl who uses her father's head for a pillow while being carried piggyback, should strike a chord of recognition. The photography does not attempt to achieve fine art; the snapshot aesthetic (reinforced by the fact that many of the animal pictures were taken at a zoo) serves the book's modest intent well, and anyone in the position of persuading a reluctant child to hit the hay may find this a useful tool. The book's real appeal lies in its mild titillation factor: spying on another creature in a moment of private oblivion. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly

...delightful... these photos will warm your heart.
Todays Parent

this gentle parade of photographs would make a lovely inducement to slumber.
The Globe and Mail

Morning Glory Monday

Alda, whose photographs brought to life a Lower East Side tenement in 97 Orchard Street, New York, returns to that setting for this inspiring picture-book portrait of immigrant life. Kovalski'sopenhearted watercolor and charcoal renderings make an ideal match for this urban fairy tale, while her characterizations possess poignant emotional depth as the enchanted flowers lift Mamas depression, the happiness and relief in her daughters face radiates from the page.
Publishers Weekly

The cheerful tone and fanciful plot will enchant readers.
School Library Journal

Alda convincingly portrays tenement life and its hardships in small details. Kovalskis charcoal and watercolor illustrations are equally authentic
The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books, University of Illinois

The authors depiction of depression-era New York is beautifully rendered
Resource Links

The power of things beautiful to bring great joy is evident in this most enjoyable story. Maryann Kovalski uses her own best magic to bring to life theera, and to introduce us to some truly unique and wonderful characters.
Brandon Sun

97 Orchard Street, New York: Stories of Immigrant Life
(This is a book intended for adults)

Aldas contemporary photos add a beautiful artistic note. The flavor
of life on Orchard Street from the end of the nineteenth century through
the 1930s can be tasted here.
Booklist

Arlene Alda's 1 2 3

Arlene Alda's 123: What Do You See?

A gorgeous counting book that is as artful as it is clever. The sweeping tail of a kite loops into a 2, a swan's neck and its reflection form a glorious 3. There are two particularly lovely figures in stone, one a series of stones in a Japanese garden that comprise a 7, and two cobbles in an old path in Sweden that resemble an 8. The photographed objects that form the number shapes have a light spontaneous feeling, found objects rather than the lumbered, overly studied images seen in other books on counting and geometric shapes. Only twice in 20 pictures with a cramped shot of a bicycle shadow to achieve a 5 and a posed shot of a peeled banana for a 3 do the images feel even slightly forced. A full set of numbers appears on each page in a handsome typeface, with the number in question in bold. The list of image sources at the end of the book offers a hint of Alda's enthusiasm and sense of discovery surrounding each picture; children will be looking for numbers everywhere they go.
(Picture book 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews

October 15, 1998

Review by Education-World.com

New Book Challenges Kids to Be Creative!

See the number 2 in the curl of a kite string floating high in the sky? See the fancy 9 in the contours of a conch shell? Arlene Alda's 1-2-3 challenges readers to look at photographs -- and the world -- in a different way. This book, a companion to Arlene Alda's ABC, will suggest many extension activities for students from K to college. Included: Activity suggestions from the author!

Get out the crayons! Get out the cameras! Arlene Alda's 1-2-3 (Tricycle Press) is a natural for follow-up activities that encourage students to look at the world around them with a critical eye, an artist's eye. Show students how Alda has captured in her lens the number 4 in the crossed legs of a flamingo? Do they see the number 7 in the bend of a drinking straw? Every reader will enjoy finding the numbers in Alda's striking photo images.

The fun won't stop there, however! Challenge students to create their own photo or picture books. They can uncover unusual numbers in their classrooms, at the grocery store, or at the park. You can probably create other natural extensions.

Sound like a great activity for third graders? Nuh-uh! This is one of those activities that will challenge and develop an artistic vision in students of every age. The level of sophistication may vary, but the results are limited only by your students' limitless imaginations and creativity.

Hand each student a disposable camera and take a walk, or let students wander the school with drawing tablets in hand. See how many numbers they can find!

Why stop with numbers? Check out the author's earlier book, Arlene Alda's ABC, and let students scour the world around them for the letters of the alphabet. Do they see the A in the yellow sawhorse? Do they see the U in the necklace draped around someone's neck? What other letters do they see?

PHOTOGRAPHS AS VISUAL MUSIC

Alda is a former symphonic clarinetist and music teacher. She is the author of numerous books for children ( Sheep, Sheep, Sheep, Help Me Fall Asleep and Pig, Horse, Cow, Don't Wake Me Now) and for adults ( The Last Days of M*A*S*H). She is also an accomplished photographer whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Life and People magazines. Alda's photographic talent comes to life in 1-2-3 and ABC. In each book, she captures the beauty of nature and the magic of ordinary objects with her camera.

For her latest book, Alda selected photographs that offer a surprise and shift in perspective on every page. The book counts from 1 to 10 and then turns right around and counts back again -- 20 brilliant photographs, no text required!

The photographs Alda chose "encourage readers to take a closer look at the world around them and notice the processes at work as a candle flame flickers or shadows play on the water," she says. "I think of these photographs as visual music."

1-2-3, ABC, GET THEM FOR YOUR LI-BRA-RY!

Arlene Alda's 1-2-3 and Arlene Alda's ABC, both published by Tricycle Press, are available in bookstores. If you are unable to locate a copy of either book, ask your bookseller to order it for you, or contact the publisher at P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707.

Click here to link to the above review.

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World Editor-in-Chief

Check out related activities!

Northwest Baby and Child

"The world is rich in shapes textures, designs, and colors," says Arlene Alda, and here she finds all the letters of the alphabet on mortar surrounding three bricks shape the letter E. Roof lines frame an M. A slim candle with a flame at its tip is the letter I. This creative and beautifully photographed book is an invitation to look at things differently.

Publishers Weekly

November 15, 1995

Arlene Alda's "ABC: What Do You See?" (Tricycle Press, $12.95) is a fun new addition to alphabet books for youngsters. Alda uses a simple concept, photos of objects that include the shape of letters.

"This book is a visual poem," she writes. "It speaks of the ordinary in a transformed way. If you look around you might even see the alphabet."

The fun in this book is in the hunting those letters down. An X is in two trees twisted around one another; an L is a dirt road turning a corner around a field. K is a forked stick pointing out of the water the reflection provides the bottom half of the letter.

This is a fun one for kids who are pretty confident of their ABCs but who like a good hunt anyway.

AP Special Features

Hurry Granny Annie

Hurry Granny Annie

Ages 5-8. When Granny Annie scampers by, puffing that she has "to hurry. Can't be late. Catching something. Something great," young Ruthie is intrigued enough to follow. What's Granny chasing? Picking up two other curious children, plus small animals, on the way, she finally skids to a stop on a bluff overlooking the ocean just in time to "catch" the sunset. The children are bummed ("CATCH THE SUNSET?!") but linger long enough to look, and then to marvel. In choosing to use faint, sketchy lines and a low-contrast palette of oranges and yellows, Aldridge gives her illustrations a jumbled look, but the contrast between the racers' comically exaggerated postures and expressions, and the tranquility of the successive sunset scenes makes the episode's point effectively. Share this with children or adults, for that matter who might be neglecting similar opportunities to stop and smell the roses.

John Peters
Booklist
July 1999

A rollicking cross country sprint with their energetic grandmother leads siblings Ruthie and Joe and their friend to a wondrous journey.

Spying Granny Annie racing past, the children abandon their pursuits to join the chase; intrigued by her cryptic refrain "Can't be late. Catching something. Something great." the children speculate as to her goal. Heightening their interest is the fact that each time Granny Annie is about to explain where she is headed, she is interrupted and consequently distracted by a giant sneeze. Alda (Arlene Alda's 123, 1998, etc.) gives the tale an upbeat tempo, right to the surprising destination at land's end and overlooking an ocean sunset that provides a foil to the chase. The loveliness of the setting sun overcomes the children's initial disappointment, providing them and readers with a reminder of the joy found in simple things. Aldridge's watercolors, dine in shimmering golden hues, illuminate the beauty of an autumn sunset, she also includes whimsical elements for acute observers.
(Picture book 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

August 1, 1999

This is one spunky grandma who wants to treat her grand kids to something special. They race off trying to catch "it". They take in the beauty all the way to where the road meets the water. It is there they catch the surprise. What do you think they caught?

Portals

Fall 1999

Hurry Granny Annie

Granny Annie leads three children on a journey to catch something great. Each time Granny Annie is about to tell the children why she is running, she sneezes. The humorous text and detailed illustrations build up the reader's curiosity to find out what Granny Annie is running to catch. The use of watercolors and pencil sets the mood of the story. The character's detailed facial expressions and actions add to the humorous text. The illustrator entices the reader to continue reading by having the characters and animals out of the frames of the illustrations. This cues the reader to turn the next page and see what happens next. This book is great to have on those sad, lonely days because it will truly spark a laugh or two.

Mary Ann Nguyen
Literary Lagniappe
University of New Orleans
December 1999

Hurry Granny Annie

An energetic granny sprints across the pages of this engaging cumulative tale. Her curious chant, "Have to hurry, Can't be late, Catching something, something great," piques the interest of three neighborhood children and one by one they follow her. Every time the old woman is about to reveal what she is tying to "catch," she sneezes and sends everyone tumbling. Finally, they reach the ocean where they are "in time to catch the sunset!" At first the children balk, having expected to catch a fish, a baseball, or a butterfly, but the beauty and serenity of the scene wins them over. Aldridge's watercolor illustrations are bathed in sunny orange and yellow background. They are integral to the momentum of the book: whimsical characters careen across the double-page spreads with glimpses of Granny Annie's striped bloomers and jogging shoes leaping off the pages. Youngsters will enjoy chiming in on Annie's lyerical refrain as well as on her stupendous "achooooos." Great fun for storytime. Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

School Library Journal
January 2000

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| Hurry Grannie Annie
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Where Is Granny Going?

When Granny races by the fishing hole in her running shoes, little Ruthie wants to know why. Granny doesn't have time to tell her, so Ruthie follows. As other kids see them, they run along, too. All Granny will tell them is "Have to hurry. Can't be late. Catching something. Something great." Want to know what that something is? You'll have to read Hurry Granny Annie by Arlene Alda ($14.95, Tricycle Press) to find out! AGES 4-7.

The Reader's Edge

December 1999

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