ABC: The Alphabet from the Sky

by Benedikt Gross, Joey Lee

Overview

Discover the alphabet from a bird's-eye view!

Geographer and designer duo Benedikt Gross and Joey Lee have taken the alphabet to new heights—literally! Using satellite imagery and computer technology, the pair has discovered "accidental letters" all over the world: in roads, rivers, buildings, lakes, and more. Take a journey around the Earth in 26 letters with this special book.

“A delightful anytime book with hours of entertainment”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101995822
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
Lexile:	230L (what's this?)
File size:	94 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Benedikt Groß is a speculative and computational designer. He has a MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art, is co-author of one of the top-selling books on computation design, Generative Design, and has exhibited and published his work widely. Benedikt balances his time working on commercial- and self-initiated research projects, teaching as a professor of interaction design, and raising a family. 

Joey Lee is an experimental geographer and media artist from San Francisco working with maps and data. He has a BA from the University of California-Los Angeles, a MSc from the University of British Columbia, and has worked as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Joey spends his time "learning through making" in his practice as a researcher, educator, and technologist.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2016-06-28
This alphabet book takes the ABCs to new heights—literally. Aerial color photographs from the United States Geologic Survey offer a bird’s-eye view of various places in the United States from high above, letters of the alphabet “hiding” among the panoramic scenes. On the lower-right corner of each double-page spread is a square inset that identifies the location and map coordinates. For example, the A spread depicts Lake Worth, Florida, from above, an A-shaped subdivision just right of center. In the inset, a white map of the United States sits on a yellow field with a black dot to locate the town; city and state information is also printed, along with geographical data (N 26.5702 and W80.1904). Alphabet letters can be found in the many shapes: subdivisions and single buildings, roads and a power corridor, an island, a golf course, and bodies of water. Some letters jump out more than others, presenting readers with varying challenges. The page composition places a question at the top left as a prompt: “can you spot the A?” The type is a nice, clean Ariel Bold. This concept is an attention-grabbing blend of Stephen Johnson’s Alphabet City (1995) and Roxie Munro’s books of mazes that only the combination of a computational designer (Gross) and a geographer (Lee) could create. Backmatter includes a photo legend that reveals the letters plus two spreads of additional letters without identification, “just for fun.” This alphabet scavenger hunt will intrigue adults perhaps more than kids, but it’s fascinating and extremely inventive. (Picture book. 5 & up)

Kirkus Reviews