Ammo American Modern Books is a publisher based in Los-Angeles. They focus on one of a kind books featuring arts and culture. Some of their recent titles include
Gonzo by Hunter S. Thompson and Johnny Depp and
Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life by Todd Oldham. Both of these books are award winning titles. Ammo Books has a few different categories including art, illustration, design, pop culture, photography, and kids.
I was given a wonderful opportunity to work with Ammo Books on a review and was sent a copy of one of their new kids titles, Alternative ABC’s. It was recently published in June 2010 (this month which is why I am featuring my review in my “Everything Summer” theme).
By Dave Parmley and Eric Ruffing
13THFLOOR
“An Alternative ABC board book for hipster, urban moms and their cool little youngsters.”
Dave and Eric founded 13THFLOOR as a design studio and designed and crafted handmade lettering, logos, and illustrations for Action Sports, Motorsports and music and entertainment industries. Some of 13THFLOOR’s clients include Hot Wheels, Harley-Davidson, Element Skateboards, Oakley, Nike, The Simpsons, Mountain Dew, X-Games, MTV and more. They have also been featured in a lot of different design books, magazines, and others. Now they give us this wonderful ABC board book for our little “hipsters”.
Dave and Eric bring their creative and beautiful designs to life in Alternative ABC’s. Of course we like cute and cuddly ABC books with little animals and such but Alternative ABC’s make the alphabet come alive with these very colorful creations to spell out the alphabet. They use the street, graffiti, skateboarding, music cultures, goth, punk, and more in a very creative way. Instead of D for dog, how about D for Dude!? H for Hot Rod? K for Kicks? L for Lowrider? P for Peace? W for Wheelie? just to name a few.
Alternative ABC’s really is an “alternative” to learning ABC’s. I love the graphic designs by using graffiti and urban culture art. I think getting kids learning and experiencing art at an early is age is a really good thing. Our 4 year old son thinks this book is the “coolest” book he ever saw. This book is very cute and colorful and we love it! In addition to Alternative ABC’s, we also received Charley Harper Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles.
Charley Harper Flash Cards include 26 cards. One side of the cards are colored with the each letter of the alphabet printed on them. The other half of the flash cards feature a picture to go with the letter. You get traditional pictures with these flash cards such as A is for ape,
D is for dog, Q is for quail and so forth. The only difference is that these pictures are actually art by Charley Harper. This is what I love about them. Not only can your child learn their letters (capital letters), they also get to see pictures of things they recognize in beautiful art instead of your traditional cute, cartoon-y or cuddly pictures – not that there is anything wrong with cute and cuddly because there isn’t, its just that I love that my kids can experience something new and creative.
Our 4 year old son knows most of his letters already but he still loves them. There are some he doesn’t know or can’t remember and they have been really helpful. Even though our daughter is 9 years old and is beyond learning letters, she enjoys them as well because not only are they flash cards for learning letters, they are also floor puzzles! These flash cards make 2 beautiful art pieces by Charley Harper!
This is what both of them look like when they are put together
Ammo Books is a great way to experience great art whether it’s for yourself to enjoy, someone else in your life, or getting your kids to enjoy art. Our kids love them!
The product was sent to me for free by the company for my use and review. I was not paid to write my review and my opinions are 100% my own.
Buy It: Visit
Ammo Books to buy your copy of Alternative ABC’s for $14.95 and Charley Harper Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles also for $14.95. Don’t forget to check out their other wonderful products!
GIVEAWAY
Win It! Ammo Books is offering my readers a chance to win either a copy of Alternative ABC’s or Charley Harper Flash Cards. Two of my lucky readers will win! This is how it will work: The first winner chosen will win a title of their choice and the second winner will receive the one remaining.
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Ammo Books Children’s Books Review and Giveaway http://goo.gl/fb/wfWc5 @dustinnikki
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Tagged ammo books, board books, book reviews, charley harper, children's books, dave parmley, eric ruffing, flash cards, puzzles, reviews
