Goodbye, March, you long and unpredictable month.

This is a bit of an odd post, since I’m trying to combine a post I did LAST March and never actually published with the post I made today. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, how’s your spring coming along?

My 100 Day Project is moving (insert: slogging? sometimes!) along. I do enjoy putting them together. I try to create a yearlong set through the seasons. These sets will become the new Little Bitsas I put on the shop when they are - all 100 - done. They are meant to spread joy.”Little Bitsa Joys.” gtyh (The last word there was added by Ava crossing the keyboard. It must be snack time.) PS…the woman in the photo below is my Aunt Jean, taken in the 30s.

Below is the post I created last March 24 but for some reason never sent it along.

I collect picture books. Much less for the story than for the art; I seek out the artistry of illustration and there is much to find. I also collect Alphabet Books.. Most alphabet books are “children’s books” but I would hasten to disagree.

I am starting another series that spotlights the alphabet books in my collection. I want to share them because they are so artful. I’ll show five or six off the shelf for each letter, so you can enjoy the style. It’s still just a portion of what’s there but as has been said to the half doughnut, “It’s betta than nuthin.”

Oh, AND, since Alphabets are my thing, I’ll share some alphabet book pages from my own studio desktop. The Bean Alphabet, the Veggie Alphabet, the Color Alphabet…among them. Stay tuned.

Maria Popover, at The Marginalian, who I have mentioned more than once here, is a lover of illustrated picture books as well. If you enjoy that kind of thing, you would enjoy her weekly free/small donation posts.

Here is a selection of A’s:

1

The Jungle Book by Michael Roberts

Big and bold. Makes me want to get out the scissors and paper and fill the page.

2

The Abc of Fabulous Princesses. (One of my all-time favorites) by Willy Puchner

When I taught, I would often use this as the inspiration point for the students to make their own alliterative creations. They made great class books, each student contributing a letter. I also made them find a new word that began with their letter and use it appropriately. That was no problem for those truly gifted young people.

3

Alphabet City, by Stephen T. Johnson. I once set out to find my own letters in the city. Found a few, still lookin’ for many!