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Rocker Moms v. Soccer Moms

by Kitty Flynn
Nov 09, 2010 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
“B is for Boombox”; “F is for Flames”; “M is for Mohawk.”
— from Alternative ABCs by 13th Floor
Okay. I know I’m not the intended audience for this book, as a parent or as a children’s book reviewer. I’m not young, hip, or edgy -- quite the opposite on all counts. But AMMO Books sent this no-baby-appeal board book to the Horn Book, so it’s fair game, I say.

Alternative ABCs is an unfocused grab-bag mash-up of anything that smells even remotely counterculture-y or anti-establishment. We've got the twenty-six letters represented by such things as Earth Day and hot rods, skulls and tattoo ink, quarter pipes and vegetarians. (Hey! I’m a vegetarian! Maybe they aretalking to me.) Adding to the noise, the often unreadable text and chaotic graphic design completely overwhelm each double-page spread.
This hipster baby shower gift (if hipster parents-to-be have showers) has me looking more affectionately at the previously maligned Baby Goes Beep board book -- at least that baby's got kid appeal. Also, I’m reminded of Candlewick’s 2009 Art for Baby, which while taking a gimmicky highbrow approach to the concept book still has the right stuff to engage the youngest book lover. Alternative ABCs offers nothing for infants and toddlers beyond a lot of attitude and thick, sturdy, chewable pages.

On their website, the publisher admits as much: “This is the board book that Soccer Moms run from and Rocker Moms gravitate to.” Come on, AMMO Books, give Rocker Moms a bit more credit. Why wouldn’t they want to stimulate their babies’ interest in books as much as anyone in mom jeans?

Kitty Flynn

Kitty Flynn is reviews editor for The Horn Book, Inc.

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Hugh N.B.

>I'll take the decidedly non-edgy, but developmentally appropriate, allure of Baby Goes Beep any day.

Posted : Nov 15, 2010 03:06

Katie

>I'm sad that G isn't for "guyliner."

Posted : Nov 11, 2010 08:10

Kitty

>katie: exactly. My favorite pinky/purply-haired, pierced, tattooed mama friend told me once that she couldn't stand baby clothes with skulls on them, but her child-free friends thought black onesies with skulls and crossbones were hilarious and an appropriate look.

Posted : Nov 11, 2010 08:05

katie

>This is the kind of thing that is - in my opinion - not targeted at the actual target audience, but instead, at people who know and love the target audience but haven't the first clue what might actually appeal (or not.) I have pink hair and tattoos as well as a three-year-old son (though I listen to far more hip hop than alterna-anything), and would probably be squarely in what ought to be the target audience for this book, but the book itself fills me with rage and aggravation. So I will probably get at least one, possibly from my aunt.

Posted : Nov 11, 2010 07:43

Roger Sutton

>"Hey, I'm hip--LOL, laughing out loud; WTF, why the face?" (Modern Family)

Posted : Nov 11, 2010 04:23

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