As a collector of alphabet books, I'm always on the look out for a fresh take on this flexible genre. My personal collection numbers almost 500 books from around the world and as a collection it's a fascinating record of culture, nationality and history.  Only in Australia would Vegemite be used to illustrate the letter V!

 ABC UK is, as the title suggests, an A-Z of British culture presented in alphabet format.  The idiosyncratic collection of British items ranging from ancient history to popular culture provides scope for discussion with children or indeed teenagers of all ages. The selection includes B is for Beatles, D is for Dragon (picturing the dragon of England and the red dragon of Wales locked in conflict). It includes the iconic (O is for Oak and U is for Union Jack), the ironic (W is for Wellies), the legendary (N is for Nessie and R is for Robin Hood), the traditional and not so traditional. And as for the difficult X and Z... well X is for Kiss and Z is for Zero Degrees Longitude. Multiethinc Britian is well represented with C is for Carnival and V is for Vindaloo. Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland are each given special mention with Yorkshire Pudding, Llanfairpwyllgwungyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch, the Loch Ness Monster and the Giant's Causeway.

The illustrations are witty and a variety of styles is used to refelct the items chosen to represent each letter;  from the Heath Robinsonesque I is for Inventors to the Pop Art inspired M is for Mini and the photomontage used for Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest and the Queen's corgi.

In the classroom, this super resource might be used as a starting point for discussion about what it means to be British. Inevitably, inspite of the very careful choices made, with only 26 letters to play with there will be aspects of British life that are left out but this can provide an excellent starting point for talking about the choices made and alternative selections. It might also be used a stimulus for pupils to create their own ABC UK drawing on their own experiences,  favourite icons, places of interest and stories.

Finally, ABC UK would be a super gift to give to a visitor to Britain.

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2008-08-09