Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Relentlessly cheerful rhymes ("G is for GREATNESS you're well on your way / H is for HAPPY to see you today") extend Clayton's "awesome" theme (An Awesome Book, etc.). While this alphabet book isn't original, the pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations--small drawings of other items beginning with each letter--are imaginative and easily identifiable.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In keeping with the irreverently inspirational attitude of his previous work, Clayton provides an alphabet of affirmations (-A is for awesome/ and also amazin-/ B is for beautiful/ big bold and brazen-) while animals and objects that begin with each letter hover around the words. The phrases occasionally dip into greeting-card territory (-K is for kids being kids/ (that-s the coolest)/ L is for living life/ up to its fullest-), but the big, furry-looking font and playful miniature images, along with lines like -S is for sailing/ in all seven seas/ T is for talking/ and teaching and trees- lend Clayton-s work a Haight-Ashbury vibe that should gel with free-spirited kids. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

K-Gr 2 With this quirky alphabet book, Clayton provides affirming concepts for each letter: "C is for Confident Cool and Collected/D is for Dreaming things never expected&30;/Q is for Quiet to escape from the madness/R is for Reading but also for radness." Hand-drawn fonts, which alternate between large, uppercase letters that seem to be made of fur and words in a smaller, not-too-perfect typeface, are clear and easy to read. The book's design-narrow rectangles with plenty of white space-amplifies each featured word and makes it appropriate for building vocabulary. On each page, Clayton surrounds the text with miniature sketches of objects that begin with the featured letter-"H is for Happy to see you today" is paired with a horse, horn, hippo, hamster, harp, etc. The text verges on the trite ("E is for Everything under the sun") and is sometimes nonsensical ("T is for Talking and teaching and trees"), but there's no denying the positive, kid-centric appeal. The attractive illustrations and accessible design make A Is for Awesome a fun addition for most collections. Nora Clancy, Teachers College Community School, New York City