British Museum: ABC by Nosy Crow

British Museum: ABC by Nosy Crow
Buy British Museum: ABC by Nosy Crow at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sam Tyler
Summary: Specifically chosen items from the vast British Museum collection have been gathered to teach children their ABCs in this attractive learning book.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 24	Date: May 2017
Publisher: Nosy Crow Ltd
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9780857638168
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Learning your ABCs is also seemingly learning the same items appearing over and over again. A is not only A – it is also Apple. B is Ball, C is Car. It is almost as if there are only 26 objects in the world and they happen to start with different letters of the alphabet. In fact, apart from Xylophone and X-Ray, there are loads of things that you could choose to put in an ABC book, if only you had a vast repository of objects and art that you could choose from …

British Museum: ABC is not really an ABC book with a difference, but an ABC with enough of a difference. It uses the collections contained in the vast museum and its archives to indicate the letters. Therefore, you don't just get another drawing of a car for C, but a vintage toy. W is still Wave, but this is an image taken from a centuries old Japanese painting.

By using the collections they control, the British Library have found a fun way of highlighting their items to a young audience, but also makes the ABC book slightly different. The format itself is normal, two or three images per double spread that leads you through the alphabet, but the full colour images are very attractive. There almost seems to be a textural feel to the book as if you can almost reach out and touch the history.

The book itself has been designed to appeal to the 1-3 year old audience who will be learning their ABCs. The hardback version is over 24 solid card pages and it will survive being thrown around a little or being read in a car seat. The pictures chosen are also sensible in that they are different and catch the eye with their colours. That being said, the book does come across as a little worthy and perhaps it is the museum-loving parent who will enjoy the book more on behalf of the child. A two year old would probably just enjoy their favourite Mr Men and Little Miss characters telling them what A is and don't really desire culture. Thankfully, Nosy Crow have produced the book in a manner that even if the kids don't care for the carefully chosen artefacts, they will still learn and be attracted by the pages.

There are some very attractive ABC books out there An Animal ABC by Alice Pattullo being one.

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You can read more book reviews or buy British Museum: ABC by Nosy Crow at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy British Museum: ABC by Nosy Crow at Amazon.com.

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