Introducing Abrams Appleseed

The week before I officially began working at ABRAMS, I was invited to travel down to the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. as a member of the ABRAMS team. I had not a book to my name nor a business card to share. I had only inklings… inklings that the sort of books I would be creating would be nothing like those I was seeing on the exhibition floor. The marriage of ABRAMS (The Art of Books) and 0-5 publishing (the art of developmental mindfulness) has yielded something of an anomaly in the baby/toddler/preschool market. Our friend Bob Shea said it best: “You’re creating coffee table board books!” Indeed, our list fits just as comfortably in the mouths of babes as it does on display in your bookshelf.

When you give the gift of book, you want it to be a book that you love. As adults, we are reluctant to select a seemingly boring, insipid, or gaudy children’s book… and even less likely to read it again and again with a child.  In order to publish for children this young, we must publish for the adults in their lives as well. I often return from a meeting to find mysterious gaps in my otherwise meticulously lined shelves… and as we do not employ anyone here under the age of five, I gather that the culprits are, in fact, adults. Our first list of Abrams Appleseed books have turned the upstanding citizens of our company into mere petty thieves! I will not publicly condone this behavior, so I celebrate it in secret.

But seriously, I would also be stealing these books off the shelves if they weren’t already mine. They’re kind of irresistible! Here are my unofficial taglines for each book:

Pantone: Colors
Come ON! Have you ever??

 
Babar and His Family / B is for Babar
I know, I used to love Babar too. Um hello? First classic board books ever? History in the making??

Hippopposites
No, keep going, that’s not even the best one…that’s not even the best one… no seriously, it’s coming…

 
My Birdie Puzzle Book / My Bunny Puzzle Book
They’re like the prettiest puzzle books out there, rieeeght?

 
Little Pim: Animals / Little Pim: Numbers
Oh no big deal, it’s only the PREEMINENT LANGUAGE-LEARNING PROPERTY for kids under 5.

Get Dressed!
Seriously the best-dressed book. And so damned clever!

Huff & Puff
Are you kidding me? Look at that pig. LOOK AT THAT PIG!

I’d love to read your unofficial taglines too… so go grab, buy, borrow, or steal an Appleseed book for yourself. And read all you want, we’ll make more! (Nailed it.)

Cecily Kaiser is Publishing Director for Abrams Appleseed.