Anno's Alphabet

Anno's Alphabet
Anno ~ Harper, 1975

Can you tell we still have 14 days to go and I am already tiring of Kringle? Sooo, to celebrate the holiday season nearing its climax, here is a totally unaffiliated kids' book that is a designer's dream. For those not in the know, Mitsumasa Anno is one of Japan's most famous illustrators and became known to children's book lovers in the US for creating a huge back list of books that house intricate illustrations, most of which feature his name in the title.

Anno's Alphabet (subtitled An Adventure in Imagination) is no different and offers up a single stark and majestic drawing for each letter of the alphabet. Pictured here is the illustration for M (though the letters themselves are pictured opposite and are all drawn of wood like the question mark on the cover). Most of the pictures are everyday items pictured from a new perspective.

A is for anvil.
D is for door (the door inside of a die that a devil happens to be climbing in).
J is for joker (who just happens to be juggling jacks).

It is evident from the detail of his drawings that he is a bit of a math whiz, but you certainly don't have to be one to appreciate the tight style and universal order of his world. All of his books are eye candy.