A Seaside Alphabet

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

A Seaside Alphabet is a visually beautiful picture book that adults and
children can delight in together. The alphabet letters are much smaller
than those typically found in such books, so that while small children
could enjoy the colorful, full-page illustrations by themselves, they
would not be able to read the relatively sophisticated captions nor, in
some cases, even guess at the connections.

An introduction, which begins “I love to be by the sea. Come with
me...,” is aimed at children older than those learning their alphabet,
as is a substantial epilogue in small print with scientific and
historical information about the Eastern coastline, its wildlife, and
environment. The scenes are set up as puzzles meant to be combined with
a later page that lists the relevant letter words in each and urges
readers to see how many they can find. The “A” page includes
“animal, auburn, apples, asters, acorns, arm, ankle, algae,
L’Acadie, mountain ash.”

Author Donna Grassby trained as a nurse in Nova Scotia and returns
annually to her beloved Atlantic coast. Illustrator Susan Tooke, born in
New Jersey, now lives in Halifax. Her murals, landscapes, portraits, and
digital-imaging montages are in collections across the continent. A
Seaside Alphabet is a first children’s book for both creators. The
book will be enjoyed by older readers who could teach the actual letters
with other visuals. Recommended.