The Magic of Letters - by Tony Johnston (Hardcover)

About the Book

Letters are everywhere in this colorful, imaginative book that embraces the power of words and what they can do, how they can make children feel, and what they can help kids say. Full color.

Book Synopsis

Letters are MAGIC. When you know their secrets, like a bright bird, you take flight. Hop along with a playful rabbit emcee and see for yourself!

Letters are everywhere in this delightful book that embraces the power of words and what they can do, how they can make you feel, and what they can help you say.

Each letter has a name, and letters have power . . . power to make words. Words can make you hungry, make you laugh, or enchant you. And you can enchant others with magic of your own, by using them to write anything you please.

Unlock the magic of letters in this colorful, imaginative book from the award-winning author/illustrator teams of Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor.

Review Quotes

"the text is heartfelt, and Minor's sketchbook-style illustrations have an immediacy and energy that will make readers feel that they're peering over his shoulder as the drawings take shape."--Publishers Weekly

"A fanciful and enthusiastic romp through Letterville that could spark a love of reading and writing in some children. Best for one-on-one sharing."--School Library Journal


"Journey through a land where words take flight and spark creativity. A fantastical bespectacled rabbit is readers' guide into a top hat and through Johnston and Minor's wonderland of words as they celebrate the power of language to instruct, inspire, and delight children. . . . A charming ode to the lyricism of language."--Kirkus Reviews


"Talented picture-book author Johnston here celebrates language itself, starting with letters . . . Casual and highly textured graphite and digital art, with letters and words in crisp font roaming through the spreads, is a significant departure from Minor's usually polished style, and its rollicking vigor is inviting."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About the Author

Tony Johnston is the award-winning author of over one hundred children's books including, most recently, A Small Thing . . . but Big, illustrated by Hadley Hooper. She worked with Wendell Minor on picture books Sequoia and Cat, What Is That?, as well as collaborated with Tomie dePaola on titles like The Quilt Story and The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote. She lives in San Marino, California.

Wendell Minor has illustrated and/or written over fifty children's books, many of them award winners. He was recently honored as the Norman Rockwell Museum's 2018-2019 Artist Laureate. He collaborated with Tony Johnston on the picture book Sequoia, and he is well known for his collaborations with the late Jean Craighead George. He lives in Connecticut.