Reviews: (by author)

Rumford, James. There's a Monster in the Alphabet. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. $16. ISBN 0-618-22140-9.

Rumford's recent picturebook Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn-Battuta with its gorgeous Persian-styled illustrations and intriguing layout was a big hit with reviewers (see our review elsewhere on the site). This book is completely different and also highly original. It's not an ABC; rather, it's a fanciful history of the early Greek alphabet, based on the Greek myth that Cadmus, founder of Thebes, was originally a Phoenician who brought the new writing system with him on his gods-driven search for a new homeland. (Considering the subsequent history of the House of Cadmus-Oedipus, Antigone, etc., Cadmus ought to have stayed in the Middle East.). In telling his story, Rumford utilizes a Greek style of art dramatically and effectively, often on black backgrounds. The Cadmus story is woven with letters showing how their shape was associated with animals and objects (house, ox, etc.). Certain to captivate intelligent children, this is a good buy, for it's sure to be read and looked at many times over.

A.A. Spring 2003

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