Charley Harper's ABC's Review & Giveaway!

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to review Charley Harper's ABC's from AMMO Books, and here's what we thought.

What it is:
An alphabet board book featuring nature inspired artwork from noted American artist Charley Harper.

Publication info:
Published by AMMO (American Modern) Books, a publisher specializing in provocative, one-of-a-kind books, especially on visual arts and pop culture.

First Impressions:
I was immediately impressed by the colorful artwork. I especially loved the nuthatch (bird) on the cover that was stylized but still easily recognizable.

General Impressions:

These books are definitely easy on the eyes. Charley Harper specializes in what he called minimal realism, but there's a surprising variety in his art. It was tempting to take pictures of all the pages for this review, but I restrained myself and just included a few of my favorites. Because each letter gets its own two-page spread, the book is pretty thick, but there's also a thinner version with 4 letters per page and just as nice of artwork (for most letters it's the same picture as the thick version). I like that the thick version only has one letter per page, but I also like how the thin version fits easily into my small diaper bag. Baby seems really interested in the colorful pictures and this book holds his interest longer than most of his other books. The only downside I saw is that some of the illustrations are probably too abstract for kids who are still learning to identify types of animals. For example, this herd of zebras:

However, most of the pictures are pretty clear and I think this book is great to have in your collection as long as you have some less abstract pictures of zebras, etc. to show your little one(s) too when you're trying to teach them animals instead of letters.

Pros:

• Beautiful artwork
• two thicknesses
• well-made/durable

Cons:

• 
  
  Some pictures may be too abstract for some kids

The bottom line:
These books are beautifully illustrated and a fun introduction to different styles of art. I think they'd make a great addition to the library of any baby/toddler/pre-schooler.

Buy it:
You can buy both versions of Charley Harper's ABC's directly from AMMO

Win it:

AMMO Books is generously giving one reader a free copy of your choice of either the thick or thin version of Charley Harper's ABC's. To enter, visit the AMMO Books website, then comment here with the title of another book that sounds interesting, either for your child/grandchild or for yourself!

For extra entries after the mandatory first entry, do any of the following, and please leave a seperate comment for each you thing you do:

• Follow @AMMOBooks on Twitter
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• Tweet/Retweet this giveaway
• Blog about this giveaway (please leave the link in your comment)

Enter by Midnight on Wednesday, May 12th to win. I'll pick a winner using random.org, then contact them by e-mail. If I don't hear back within 48 hours of contacting the winner, I'll pick a new winner.

*This review is my honest opinion of the product and exclusively mine. I received free books to review, but did not receive any monetary compensation. Every baby is different and your family may have a slightly different experience than the one I just described.

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