Presents objects from the collections of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum that reveal a great variety of approaches to design using the form of an alphabet book–from a medieval Egyptian cap for A to a twentieth-century chair for Z.

What Kind of Book is Ah-Ha to Zig-Zag

Topics

first concepts alphabet (ABCs)art history

Genres

nonfiction

Reviews

Lauren Hancock

5.75

Warning: this isn't your typical alphabet book, but it's absolutely delightful. Maira Kalman's meandering, upbeat stroll through the alphabet perfectly matches her unique illustrative and design aesthetic. Each page features items housed in New York City's Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, matched in some way to some letter of the alphabet. The book reads like a conversation from beginning to end, and makes me want to make an effort to look at the world more creatively. It's hard to explain exactly why Maira Kalman's work makes me feel so good, but it does, every time.

Book Lists That Include Ah-Ha to Zig-Zag

Books about 2019 Picture Book Summer Reading List

Books about first concepts

The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way)

Books about alphabet (ABCs)

The Creative Behind the Book

Author & Illustrator

Maira Kalman

Maira Kalman (www.mairakalman.com) is the author-illustrator of numerous picture books, including Looking at Lincoln, Fireboat, Next Stop Grand Central, and What Pete Ate from A-Z, as well as adult hits such as And the Pursuit of Happiness and The Elements of Style Illustrated. She is also the illustrator of the Printz Honor Winning Book Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler. Her artwork has appeared on a dozen New Yorker covers, and her watches, clocks, accessories and paperweights have been featured at the Museum of Modern Art store. She lives in New York City.