I have a three year old who has learned his ABCs and now expects me to point out everything in this great big world of his using the “S is for Stoplight” and “F is for Fire Hydrant” method. We’ve exhausted many of the objects around the house, so I’m very happy to have in my hands a copy of Steampunk Alphabet that offers up a new collection of items along a sufficiently geeky rhyme for my son and a more adult-friendly paragraph for how each item fits into a steamy’s world.
Take G for example. Here’s my son’s rhyme:
A good pair of goggles was becoming a must
With all of that steam and the smoke and the dust
As industrial sectors put themselves in a haze
Goggles were starting a new fashion craze.
And now here’s the bit for me:
As the fires of industry were set ablaze, goggles like these became part of many worker’s daily outfits. The fuels burned to power machines and factories produced a perpetual, nasty concoction of stifling fumes in large portions of the city. Though initially worn out of necessity, goggles soon became a fashion accessory.
Each two-page spread provides one of the 26 letters, along with a beautifully drawn illustration on the right and a matching Initial letter on the left. The book is small as a child’s ABC book should be — about six inches square with heavy cardstock-like pages that won’t bend easily.
I missed this book when it was initially a Kickstarter project (original backers have their names included in the back of the book), and I’m so glad that the book is now being made available to the world through Cameron Books. It’s a beautiful little hardback book written and illustrated by Nathanael Iwata. My three year old likes the bright images and the rhyming bit, even though he doesn’t really understand much of it. I don’t care — I love every bit of it. No matter how old we steampunk fans get, we can always use an ABC refresher, right?
Note: I’d like to thank Chris at Cameron Books for providing a copy to review.
