The A to Z of Everyday Things - Softcover

Janice Weaver has been working with books all her life – first as an editor, and now as a writer. Her first book, Building America, was named a Notable Book by the International Reading Association and also appeared on the New York Public Library’s 2002 Books for the Teenage List. Her second book, From Head to Toe, was published in the fall of 2003 to equal acclaim.

Francis Blake has been an illustrator for as long as he can remember, and his artwork appears in magazines, books, and advertising campaigns across North America, Europe, and the Far East. His original paintings and drawings are in private collections as far apart as Melbourne, Toronto, and Wigan. Francis Blake lives in London, England with an increasingly demanding and occasionally very bad-tempered cat.

Grade 4-8–This compendium offers 26 chapters, each representing, however loosely, a letter of the alphabet. B is for black, W is for white. Disparate subjects include ice cream, Queen's English, pretzels, and lipstick. X, a litmus test, really, for any alphabet book, explains all about Xeroxing. Short chapters (none more than six pages long) are packed with information that goes beyond the subjects at hand. For example, to get the lowdown on equinoxes, readers are led to the chapter on Easter by the handy and necessary index. A patron wants to know about Lupercalia festival? It's in the Valentine section. Gray-tone cartoons are humorous, as evidenced by the gentleman shown in the chapter on sideburns. Small, dark sidebars further entice readers with trivia. A Victorian woman, for example, might wear about a dozen different undergarments. Language style is friendly and not too difficult. An extensive bibliography is appended. While not critically essential, this is a fun and interesting choice for all, but most especially for devotees of the 031 section.–Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
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