Quirky, kooky, textured and cool, would be an apt description for the imagery that makes up this alphabet picture book by Argentinian creator Isol.
Her text is similarly placed firmly outside the square, with such obscure alphabetical concepts as 'Come on!' for the letter C--in which we see a girl at a table awaiting the blossoming of a potted seed, and its promise to become a mighty tree, and 'Good morning!' from the letter M, in which we see a man up a ladder, pushing the morning sun upward, nudging a blue bird on a branch above.
Daytime Visions, An Alphabet is artistic, conceptual and a lot of fun, with thought-provoking concepts and imagery that (most happily) skip over the Apple, Ball, Cat alphabetical concept, and play with the more intense levels of nuance-comprehension inherent in all children.
Beautifully textured, with superb colourways, this is a book that will appeal to adults and art lovers, too.
In 2013, Isol won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and said, as part of her acceptance speech - 'What reader could be more demanding than a child? Children have a lot of things to discover and I'd better be on their high level in order to satisfy their huge capacity for curiosity. I get my inspiration from what's wild, from what's ridiculous, from that independence of culture that children enjoy.'
Title: Daytime Visions, An Alphabet
Author/Illustrator: Isol
Publisher: Enchanted Lion, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 August 2016
Format: Hard cover
ISBN: 9781592701957
For ages: 2 - 5
Type: Picture Book