Calista
4,995 reviews31.3k followers
Quirky Maurice. This is his alphabet book with alligators. It is quite cute. The nephew wants to learn his letters and he thought this was a fun book. He spends time looking at the pages. I still enjoy reading Maurice. He has his own beat - for certain.
- 1960s bage-children classic
Anna
139 reviews6 followers
Lovely book, but for the letter I- "Imitating Indians". Just not quite what I want to be modeling for this impressionable little babe.
- books-for-baby
Ronyell
989 reviews331 followers
“Alligators All Around” is apart of the popular Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak and it details a family of alligators showing the audience about learning the alphabet through various humorous phrases. “Alligators All Around” is a brilliant book about teaching the alphabet in a creative way that children will love for many years. Maurice Sendak had out done himself in this clever book about learning the alphabet through creative phrases. Maurice Sendak comes up with some creative and hilarious verses to teach children the letters of the alphabet such as “A: Alligators All Around” and “D: Doing Dishes,” as he simply uses two words to describe each letter of the alphabet, making the book easier for smaller children to understand the concept of the letters of the alphabet. Maurice Sendak’s illustrations may not be as colorful or realistic as his popular books “Outside Over There” or “Where the Wild Things Are,” but they are extremely creative as the characters are a family of three green alligators who are shown doing crazy antics that are representing the letters of the alphabet. The images that truly stood out in this book were the images of the three alligators themselves as they have tiny black dotted eyes and have humorous expressions on their faces whenever they are doing something crazy in this book. Parents should know that there is an image of a small alligator pushing a human child when the book approaches the letter “P”, which is “Pushing People” and parents might be a bit uncomfortable with having such an image presented to a young child who can easily imitate anything. Parents should tell their children that it is not nice to push other children around and therefore, children should not imitate the image of the alligator pushing the children so often. “Alligators All Around” is a brilliant book about learning the letters of the alphabet in a creative way that will have many children enjoying this book for a long time. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the image of the alligator pushing a child might entice smaller children. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog
- animal-books children-s-book fantasy
Melki
6,856 reviews2,538 followers
This alligator family knows its A-B-Cs, and really gets up to a lot over the course of the book. Cute enough, though I felt a little cheated by Zippity zound! as the Z activity.
- kidstuff now-i-know-my-abcs raging-reptiles
Óscar Trobo
289 reviews22 followers
Sendak. Caimanes. ¿Qué más se puede pedir?
Chrissi Guarnieri
30 reviews1 follower
This version of the ABCs using Alligators as the main characters was perfect for 2-4 year olds. The pictures often depict little alligators being pretty naughty, the colors are more muted than typical children's stories but clearly illustrated by Sendak's unique style. The naughty little Alligators present themselves as good talking points to illustrate what not to do.
Illustrator Project Book
- kid-lit
Susan
2,400 reviews68 followers
A delightful book that follows the alligator family on their antics and activities, alphabetically. I enjoyed how the family is to together in this little book. This book provides a great way for children to learn the alphabet, in a much more interesting way than many more mainstream sources provide.
- 2014 storybook
Sarah
814 reviews32 followers
I adore this book. I used to listen to a record (yes, record) of Carole King's musical adaptations of this and other Maurice Sendak books and I love, love, love them. Naturally this book takes me back to the days of records and not to mention Wonder Woman pajamas.
- picture-books
Mommooshka
676 reviews
Fun illustrations present a fun way for kids to learn or reinforce sounds of the letters of the alphabet. Although it has classic, two-tone illustrations, the clever poses and ideas will keep kids' interest.
Beth
19 reviews8 followers
Love this book! If you enjoy a good ABC story and the art of Maurice Sendek how can you go wrong with this one! The alligators in the title are talso the actors bringing the alphabet to life.
Megan Bell
16 reviews1 follower
Very interesting
Nick Swarbrick
325 reviews34 followers
And the Carol King song is a perfect accompaniment!
Katie
66 reviews1 follower
Prose: Modern Fantasy
Maurice Sendak uses alligators to share the alphabet. Meant for young kids.
- modern-fantasy
Min
997 reviews
A playful, memorable book for a child learning the alphabet, and, best of all as an older person-- it is fun for adults to read, too. Each letter has a brief phrase spelt with that letter, such as, "keeping kangeroos", and "yackety yackety. The ever - iconic illustrations could easily lend themselves into creating a story, and inspiring a child to read into the pictures. A great addition to a child's reading list.
- children-s
Katie Fitzgerald
Author14 books239 followers
This alliterative alphabet book is one of four titles in Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library. A family of expressively drawn alligators introduces us to each letter of the alphabet with simple two-word phrases that describe what one or more of the alligators is doing in the illustrations. Some pages are pretty mundane and serious, such as "M making macaroni," where the little boy alligator watches his mother stirring noodles in a pot, and D doing dishes, where mom washes and the little boy begrudgingly dries. Other pages reach the height of silliness, with activities like "entertaining elephants," "keeping kangaroos" and "wearing wigs." Some pages are even a little bit disturbing, such as the one for P pushing people, when the young alligator shoves a little boy and then stands there looking smug. My favorite page of all is L looking like lions, where each of the alligator family members wears a hairy mane around his or her neck and creeps in a menacing way off to the left-hand side of the page. I can't imagine how he pulls it off, but only Maurice Sendak could make alligators look like lions and alligators at the same time. For the most part, I think this book is brilliant and maybe even the best alphabet book I've ever read. There is only one problem, and that is the one flaw that truly dates this book. For the letter I, Sendak shows the alligators "imitating Indians." Because I know this is considered offensive nowadays, due to the inaccurate and degrading way it portrays American Indians, that one page does prevent me from sharing the book with kids in a public forum. It also keeps from including the book in my list whenever a parent asks for recommended alphabet books. Still, though, it's impossible to deny Sendak's brilliance, even with this flaw.
- 2011 audience-children format-picture-books
Rebecca
19 reviews
Sendak's Alligator's All Around captures the pleasant aloofness of an alligator family. Through the simple rhythm of an alphabet book, the alligators are developed into characters that enjoy the unique side of life. The opening page depicts the alligators with snouts pointed up, eyes closed, and hand claws purposefully bent towards the body. The only landscape cue is offered by the shining sun in the right corner of an otherwise completely white backdrop. It portends a day that will be filled with whatever may strike the alligators' fancy. And so, with the turn of the page, we are invited to watch as an outside observer the antics of this family. They seem not to notice or care that the reader is watching, they are fully absorbed in themselves and their activities.
Each page is bordered by a thin black line. Clearly, each stands as a single frame, containing a story of its own, within the whole structure of the overall story. The pictures are bridged together by the flow of the alphabet. Large black typography sets off each letter while it is repeated often in the caption below. The alligators are a muted, yet beautiful, sage green. The objects that exemplify the letter are set off in teal and yellow. This motif is consistently run from A-Z, and acts as a sort of highlighter to the displayed event. The last page is a clever punctuation where picture and words synchronize together to emphasize the title...Alligators really are All Around.
Danielle Matthews
33 reviews1 follower
Sendak, Maurice. Alligators All Around. New York: Harper Collins, 1962. Take a bite into the life of an alligator, while learning your ABC’s along the way! Sendak’s classic alphabet book uses fun alliterative descriptions of the alligators engaging in daily activities. From bursting balloons to wearing wigs, the consistent pattern of a verb followed by a noun creates an easy to follow flow for readers. Moreover, Sendak’s unique illustrations enhance comprehension by demonstrating what’s occurring in the statement below. While the images are a bit dated, they are so animated and full of life that readers will easily engage in them. Sendak’s strategy of including each letter on the page in a large bold text, draws attention to the letter itself to further understanding. Alphabet books are so essential, for they are ultimately where the reading process commences; therefore, books that will engage learners and maintain their interest are key—Alligators All Around does just this. The only negative for me was the letter I—Imitating Indians; I, no pun intended, found it a bit objectifying and think some might be bothered by the perpetuated stereotype. Overall, however, this charming and quirky tale will surely sell cheerful children on the awesome alphabet!
Target Audience: Ages 4-7
- beginning-concept-books
Alex Schultz
49 reviews3 followers
This picture book looks at the alphabet with pictures of alligators using phrases that match what they are doing, as well as with the alphabet. The imagery is great and matches the content very well. I enjoyed how the phrases were done so articulately,that they were saying what the alligators were doing, witch would keep the audience engaged. I would use this in my class for early readers and students that need a little more help.
Kennedy Osborne
5 reviews
Summary: In the book two parent alligators are trying to teach their baby alligator about the alphabet. The author would take a verb and noun starting with the letter they were talking about and make a statement. Each page only consisted of the verb first followed by the noun with a picture of the alligators doing that activity. The illustrations in the book really help the children visualized what the alligators are doing during that time so they can connect that letter with that activity. Theme: The theme in this book would be that learning the alphabet can be easy and fun. Personal Response: I grew up with this book and I still have the copy that my mother would read to be when I was younger. She would make the book kind of like a song, so when I would read it, it was kind of memorized by I still was learning the alphabet along the way. When I finally did know all the words without singing the song I began to read it to my younger brother. Recommendation: I recommend this book because it is such an easy way for kids to learn the alphabet and the book is funny to children that age, so they wouldn’t even realizing that they are learning.
Anna Williamson
50 reviews
This story is an informational alphabet book that teaches kids each letter in a fun and engaging way. The alligators are teaching the alphabet in a song form so each page is meant to be sung as a song. The book is written with the alligators almost performing in a circus and with each new letter they use different props to illustrate and show it. They use a paper bag within their show to pull props out with each new page. The way this book is written and created is extremely engaging for students, students and children love the use of animals in books so to incorporate animals with an informational book is a smart strategy. I also enjoy the fact that it is a family of alligators as oppose to a single alligator or one and a friend. Including the theme of family within this book adds onto the educational purpose of this book and makes it more interesting and informational for children reading it. This book would be a great resource for parents that are exposing their children to learning letters and the alphabet. Having it done in song form, incorporating animals and the illustrations are major components as to why this is a well done book.
Christa Parks
21 reviews
Alligators All Around is an ABC book that follows a family of alligators through the funny and sometimes weird things that they do. While you are learning about this family of alligators you are learning about the letters of the alphabet. I first thought the book would just start with the alligators and the letter A and then use different animals with the other letters, as that is how most ABC books work. However, Sendak manages to create a cohesive story with the alphabet by using the same family of alligators. The illustrations all contain a border to separate the reader from the story. The colors are very muted and minimal. There is no illustration outside of the main characters to give you clues as to where they are located. The background is white space. Each letter of the alphabet is placed below the border in the lower left-hand corner. Something more on the simple side for Maurice Sendak.
Maya Watts
39 reviews2 followers
In Maurice’s final edition to this collection, he wrote an illustrated the alphabet book Alligators All Around. The book personifies alligators and the lives they live. Each letter is on a different page. Each letter is used to describe something that the alligators do just like human. The text is at the bottom of the page. The letter is that correlates with each page is very large and in both upper and lowercase. In this book the colors are minimal again but he chooses to highlights the green. The alligators are the only thing in color on most pages besides one or two other objects. The little alligator family acts out what each page says making to the non reader could possible guess that word that starts with the letter. The other characters in the book resemble those of characters from other books by Maurice.
Heidi
23 reviews
Maurice Sendak alphabet book, Alligators All Around, is beautifully illustrated picture book. It was originally published in 1962 and recommended for readers between 4 and 8. Maurice Sendak is a laudable author and illustrator. He was awarded the Hans Christian Anderson award for his body of work but no award for this book specifically. His art style is distinctive using only a few colors to illustrate expressive characters. This cartoon alligator nuclear family is not always on their best behavior but they are always acting alphabetically! Several sounds are offered for each for each letter. A story forms as these alligators move through their day. Their behavior is sometimes silly and bad but they are alligators, so it is to be expected. The book is charming and enjoyable but slightly older readers will get the most out of it, enjoying the alliterations.
Amanda
50 reviews
This story is a family of alligators that teach their audience the alphabet in clever and funny ways. The story is supposed to be done is a song manor so the audience learns the alphabet in song form. They teach the alphabet in a clever way because they act almost as a circus performing how each letter looks with different props. They pull props out of their paper bag with each new letter that comes. I would definitely keep this in class library and use it as a read aloud book. This is an awesome way for me to teach the alphabet in one of my younger classes. It is fun and engaging and could help students remember the alphabet better because we are singing and interacting as we read. This book could also be used with ESL students because it has so many pictures to describe what is happening and doesn’t rely on words.
- animal-books picture-books
Alexandria
864 reviews20 followers
My son received this book as a gift from a friend of mine, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it is one of the first Maurice Sendak books I can accurately remember reading. My son seemed to think the pictures were entertaining, and that's the important thing as he's a little young at this point to be learning the alphabet - three months is probably too young at any rate. The illustrations aren't in the style I usually prefer, bold colors and preferably some watercolor. But they are classic Sendak and there is merit in that. This is a classic ABCs book, but it isn't my favorite of the ones I have read so far.
- childrens-books
Madison Godfrey
50 reviews
Alligators All Around is an alphabet children’s book about an alligator going through the letters A to Z to help readers learn. This is another great book for a younger classroom. It will help them learn the alphabet and a lot of words that go with it. This is a fun book to involve the whole classroom and get them excited about reading. I thought this would be a great book for students around the age of 4 to 6 years old because that's the age where they are normally learning to read and learn the letters.
Beverly Kennett
221 reviews3 followers
Each letter is represented with a picture corresponding to the two or three word phrase describing what the alligators are doing. I liked the fact that the words need some thinking, a beginning reader cannot read them all by guessing from the picture alone. He must use decoding. I didn't like the "I" page, "imitating indians," though. The alligators are even wearing headdresses, holding a tomohawk and smoking a peacepipe. Stereotypical and not politically correct.
- abc-books picture-books
Timothy Hinkle
Author1 book21 followers
Interesting that so many people get upset about I, which is for "imitating Indians," while no one seems bothered that P is for "pushing people". The appearance of an activity in this book hardly qualifies as an endorsement of the same. Sometimes alligators (and people, too) do things that perhaps they shouldn't. This alphabet seems particularly amusing to me as all of the entries in it are eminently relatable.
- bedtime-stories picture-books
jacky
3,498 reviews88 followers
I was looking for books with alligators as part of letter A week with Natalie. Maurice Sendak was something I had to check out. I was quite happy with this book. While hoping for an actual story, I really liked that this alphabet featured the alligators throughout and that it consistently used alliteration throughout. I felt that the actions and descriptions, even though so short, actually developed character of the alligators to some degree.
- abc123 lib-lew picture-books
Tessa
26 reviews
I found this book on Goodreads, and decided to look it up because I had not seen it before. I found a video on Youtube with a song that went along with this book. I thought it was very good. It would be good for younger kids learning the alphabet or those students who need a review on it. It has good rhymes and has words that students can understand for the most part. It would be very beneficial to have this book in the classroom library.