A Was Once an Apple Pie

Handpainted cut paper artwork by Caldecott winner Suse Macdonald illustrates this stunning adaptation of Edward Lear's classic ABC rhyme. A was once an apple pie, Piedy Widey Tidy Piedy Nice insidey, APPLE PIE! Suse MacDonald adapts Edward Lear's fun-to-say, alphabet rhyme in a picture book that combines the classic with the up-to-date. Bright, bold illustrations are created with handpainted cut paper. A Bear sniffs an Apple pie, a Cat and Dog are friends, an Eel and Fish share an ocean, a Goose spills a bottle of Ink, while a Hen laughs and later a Mouse is observed by an Owl in a Nest! A stunning book! Notes Edward Lear was born in Holloway, England, to Jeremiah (a stockbroker) and Ann Lear, tutored at home by his sister, and briefly attended the Royal Academy schools. Both an author and an illustrator, he earned his living as an artist from the age of 15, mainly by doing landscapes. What he is remembered for is his nonsense books, especially his popularization of the limerick. Along with Lewis Carroll, he is considered to be the founder of nonsense poetry. In addition to his limericks, he created longer nonsense poems. The best---and best known---is The Jumblies, in which the title characters go to sea in a sieve; it is a brilliant, profound, silly, and sad expression of the need to leave the security of the known world and experience the wonder and danger of the unknown. His other most notable work is The Owl and the Pussy Cat, a less complex poem whose title characters also go to sea. Lear produced humorous alphabets and botany books as well. His wordplay, involving puns, neologisms, portmanteau words, and anticlimax, retains its vitality today and has influenced such contemporary writers of children's nonsense verse as Shel Silverstein, Ogden Nash, and Laura Richards. Subject: Children's poetry, American English poetry

A brilliant book to introduce phonemic awareness with words that rhyme along with the letters and words. Spin it in a tune, and I guarantee your kids will enjoy it, as much as my kids did!

A fun alphabet book to read aloud with a good rhyming/sing-songy quality.

Age range: 0-5 Literacy skill: Print awareness, phonological awareness Catchy rhymes about the alphabet.

I found the rhymes annoying, personally. I know I'm not the target audience, but even for a kid's book, it seemed kind of condescending to anyone older than 4 years old...

Read at Baby Lap Time on 4/22/11. http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

This is a wonderful alphabet book for ECE readers. It not only shows letters and things that start with those letters, but it also makes up rhyming words that go along with these objects. This is great for letter knowledge, phonological awareness, print awareness, and just plain fun! A refreshing take on the traditional alphabet book!

This is a clever book going through the alphabet and full of nonsense words from Edward Lear. It was a really good read from my early reader as the nonsense words all rhyme making her look at the start of the word and rhyming it nicely.

I was never overly wild about this book, but, when my daughter was 3-4 years old it was once of her favorites.

I was never overly wild about this book, but, when my daughter was 3-4 years old it was once of her favorites.