Alfredo De Santis (1941-1998) was an Italian artist and graphic designer. After his studies in Rome, he participated in the art scene of his time, working in publishing, politics and film. His books for children include Alfazoo (Emme Edizioni, 1968), Giocagiò and Basta un foglio di carta (Bompiani, 1972), C’era una nuvola (AMZ, 1976)
Alfazoo is not a conventional zoo. It houses the world’s most unusual animals: wild vowels and consonants nearing extinction.
This ABC turns letters into animals simply by adding a pair of eyes and a mouth to each shape, in a graphic game that invites young readers to play with the letters to invent their own beastly alphabet.
With its freshness and modern design, it is hard to believe that this book by Italian designer Alfredo De Santis was first published in 1968 by Emme Edizioni, the visionary publishing house that brought to the Italian market avant-garde children’s titles by authors such as Leo Lionni, Iela and Enzo Mari, Tomi Ungerer, Yutaka Sugita, Bruno Munari, Luigi Veronesi, Maurice Sendak, Emanuele Luzzati, and Bob Gill.
A timeless design lesson to read forms and symbols through a different visual lens.
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Illustrations by Alfredo de Santis
Text by Marta Sironi
Book design Bunker
(from original design by Emme Edizioni)
21 × 21 cm
48 pages
Hardcover
Italian
Isbn 978-88-98030-57-6
First edition February 2023