ABC: National Museum of American History - Hardcover

Grade 1 Up-- Letters of the alphabet are illustrated with full-color photographs of objects from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. The collection of images spans early to recent history and addresses social, economic, political, and cultural events and trends. From the flag that inspired the writing of "The Star Spangled Banner," to an 1880s quilt made by a former slave and the brightly colored plastic radios of the 1940s, the book shows a wide range of Americana. Each photograph/letter is accompanied by a descriptive two-line text that explains the object's importance in American life. Not all objects included are within the experiential realm the average preschoolers (Yankee Stadium, a jukebox, and a detail of a Jaquard coverlet), making this an alphabet book for older children. Cynthia Rubin's ABC: Americana from the National Gallery of Art (Gulliver/HBJ, 1989) shows folk art objects from the 17th and 18th centuries, but has no descriptive text. --Catherine Wood, Shelburne Museum, VT
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.