Explore the world in a new way and start finding your own alphabet...everywhere! There is a world of letters just waiting to be discovered in the world around us―if we know how to look for it. In this engaging and delightful book, photographer Elliott Kaufman reveals the "secret" life of the alphabet through his photographs, showing how letters can be found in things we encounter everyday. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by multiple images, each unintentionally created by the intersection of architectural details, shadows, light, or natural elements as caught by Kaufman's keen eye. Some are obvious, while others demand a little more imagination to recognize, inviting the readers to start their own game of hunting for letters! This fun approach also reinforces the notion that learning to see the familiar in new ways encourages visual literacy and creativity. Gr 1-3-The author's experience as an architectural photographer translates into more than a hundred images that challenge readers to find as many forms as possible that "resemble the alphabet in ways that are accidental." Youngsters will find the expected "A" formed in the frame of a ladder, a steel I-beam, B- and C-shaped door handles, or a "Z" on a garage door, but sidewalk shadows and nature images such as the blossoming tulip (V), a serrated grapevine leaf (M), or an ocean wave approaching the shore (R), move beyond man-made art and architecture and are more difficult to pick out. An unusual collection of photographic art from city to country, this compendium includes creative angles and perspectives, further informing readers with a final index of all the photo sources. Compare this book's artistry and imagination to Krystina Castella and Brian Boyl's Discovering Nature's Alphabet (Heyday, 2006) or combine it with Stephen Johnson's Alphabet City (Viking, 1995). This collection of images stretches through 60 pages, perhaps a challenge for younger readers, although the die-cut ABC on the cover is instantly eye-catching. A general purchase for all libraries.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TXα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "Gr 1-3-The author's experience as an architectural photographer translates into more than a hundred images that challenge readers to find as many forms as possible that 'resemble the alphabet in ways that are accidental.' Youngsters will find the expected "A" formed in the frame of a ladder, a steel I-beam, B- and C-shaped door handles, or a "Z" on a garage door, but sidewalk shadows and nature images such as the blossoming tulip (V), a serrated grapevine leaf (M), or an ocean wave approaching the shore (R), move beyond man-made art and architecture and are more difficult to pick out. An unusual collection of photographic art from city to country, this compendium includes creative angles and perspectives, further informing readers with a final index of all the photo sources. Compare this book's artistry and imagination to Krystina Castella and Brian Boyl's Discovering Nature's Alphabet (Heyday, 2006) or combine it with Stephen Johnson's Alphabet City (Viking, 1995). This collection of images stretches through 60 pages, perhaps a challenge for younger readers, although the die-cut ABC on the cover is instantly eye-catching. A general purchase for all libraries." ― Mary Elam Elliott Kaufman’s career path is unique but has always revolved around architectural motives. When he began shooting in the mid 70’s his orientation was toward the fine arts. Kaufman developed ideas for site-specific photomurals and wall art much before this concept became a mainstream art venue. He was able to work in this capacity with corporate industrial clients such as Westinghouse, General Electric, Warner Brothers and The Walt Disney Company. He then exhibited this work in such venues as in The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the American Institute of Architects, The Light Gallery in New York, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. A New York State Council on the Arts grant led to the exhibit “Murals for Astor Place and its Environs” at the Houghton Gallery of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He won a competition jointly sponsored by the Port Authority of New York and The New York Public Art fund, where he was awarded the commission to create a 35' x 45' public art mural outside of the Holland Tunnel. His twenty-something years of shooting architecture and design allowed him to work with a full range of firms that have been prized for their vision and abilities and include Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, Gwathmey Siegel Architects, Davis Brody Bond Architects, FX Fowle Architects, Kohn Pederson Fox, Perkins Eastman Architects and Swanke Hayden Connell and Associates. His work has been published in virtually all of the finest design magazines both nationally and internationally including Architectural Digest, Ell