A is for Apple, Unless . . .

by Tom Llewellyn, Mark Hoffmann (Illustrator)

Overview

An irreverent and unusual ABCs book featuring a fun and foul cast of characters
 
A is for apple unless you’re being chased by a bloodsucking vampire, then A is for Aaaaaagghhh!! in this irreverent and unusual ABCs book that will have readers laughing, but hopefully not vomiting, all the way from A to Zee End.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781944903978
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Tom Llewellyn is a writer and the author of several middle-grade novels. He lives with his wife and four kids in Tacoma, Washington. A Is for Apple, Unless . . . is his first, and hopefully not last, picture book. Mark Hoffmann is an award-winning children’s book author-illustrator and fine artist whose books include Poop by Poppy Champignon. He is also a professor of illustration at Montserrat College of Art. He lives in southern New Hampshire with his wife and son.
 

Editorial Reviews

2020-06-16
Hold your nose while two siblings take readers from A to Z.

Rendered with oversized heads on small bodies, the pale, dark-haired siblings assign a word to each letter of the alphabet in seemingly conventional fashion (“A is for Apple”), but each entry is followed by an “unless…” or its semantic equivalent: “unless you’re being chased / by a bloodsucking vampire, / then A is for AAAAAAGGHHH!!!” The insolent, petulant short-haired sibling is fond of sister-taunting, chasing her in a vampire costume and, later, scaring her with a dangling reptile when “S is for Snake.” The same child also throws a fit to get some ice cream, informing readers, “if you scream loud enough (and long enough), you’ll probably get some.” There’s a heavy dose of potty humor—instances of “doo-doo,” poop, pee, (lots of) farting, and undies—as well as repeated vomiting and nose-picking. Some of the entries are a stretch, making for a disjointed text: A monkey suddenly appears when “M is for Monkey / unless you have mountains of money. / Then M can be for whatever you want.” Per abecedary best practices, the capital and lowercase versions of each letter are included, but the book is primarily about grubby horseplay and mean-spirited pranks, not so much for teaching phonemic awareness or building vocabulary. Aiming for irreverent and mischievous, the book meets those marks, but little about the story or characters is likable. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Unpleasant…unless you love truly gross humor. (Picture book. 5-8.)

Kirkus Reviews