This book was absolutely morbid. I loved it! Would not allow young kids to read. The kids would not understand any of the meanings of the word even though there is a description. I learned a lot about when reading the book. The illustrations were also pretty.

I received a free copy of the book and is voluntarily writing a review

Thank you Uniquely Morbid for allowing me to read and review The Morbid Alphabet Book on NetGalley.

Published: 06/14/22

Genre: Children's Nonfiction | Middle Grade | Parenting & Families

Stars: 3.5

This is out of my comfort zone. I was confused by the Middle Grade genre and the description that this book could teach a child the alphabet.

The illustrations are unique and the words used surprised me.

For me this is less of a Children's book and more of a Halloween decoration, i.e. coffee table book. I would put this in a gift basket with spooky treats and cider or hot chocolate depending on the recipient.

What a lovely if morbid little book. Despite being aimed at middle school age children I actually found that I learned a few new terms.

The illustration in this book is beautiful and mimics a Victorian style.

Lovely, unique and gruesome - thanks Netgalley!

Interesting concept even though not all of the words are actually morbid (but still choices that fit the overall theme). However, you wouldn't be able to give this to any small child! So it probably should have been more clearly designed as a joke/humorous gift for adults--I'm not sure the artwork style quite works for that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Morbid Alphabet Book is a refreshingly unique take on the classic ABC book. With its wonderful illustrations and clever pairing of letters with morbid words, it manages to strike the perfect balance between education and entertainment. It's not often that you come across a book that manages to be both informative and delightfully dark. I thoroughly enjoyed flipping through its pages, and I have no doubt that it will grab the imaginations of young readers everywhere.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This book had so much potential. Since it was marketed for children learning the alphabet, I was expecting the writing to reflect the reading comprehension level of, say, a 4-yr-old, but that there would be little jokes/references that only the parent would understand. There is no way your toddler is going to be able to grasp words like "apparition" or "parasitic." Really, this should be aimed either as a novelty for adults into the macabre or for your smart preteen who is a bit weird.

The art was almost good. I've seen this kind of style done well in video games, but here there's just something a bit off. Maybe it's the shadows? The backgrounds? Just some of the photoshop work? I do like that the teddy bear is depicted as participating in each scene; the combo of cute + macabre was a plus. But the artwork in a book like this, with minimal text, and supposedly for children, is so important.

Ignoring all that, the words were chosen well. Some of the definitions feel a bit like they start to stray off topic, but that wasn't too bad. I learned a couple of words that I'd never heard before. And the context was interesting.

I would give a higher score if the blurb didn't focus on teaching the alphabet to a child. Even if it were said sarcastically, I'd take that. Fun idea, but needs work.

Alright, young minds, buckle up because The Morbid Alphabet Book is about to take you on one heck of a ride! Who said learning the ABCs had to be all rainbows and sunshine? This book throws that notion out the window and embraces the dark side with open arms. From creepy crawlies to eerie encounters, each page is a wild journey through the morbid and macabre. But hey, it's not all doom and gloom – alongside learning their alphabet, kids will be expanding their vocabularies like never before! So if you're tired of the same old ABCs, grab a copy of The Morbid Alphabet Book and prepare to be pleasantly spooked!

This book felt disjointed and not in a good way. I'm not sure what age range is the intended audience because some of the entries were too simplified to be for teens/adults and other things were definitely not for small children. I was hoping for a modern book like Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies and this was highly disappointing.

This book is exactly what it says it is. It goes down the alphabet with one morbid word per letter and provides a dictionary definition/explanation for them. There is also artwork that goes along with each one to illustrate it.

The art in this book is very well done. I think they did a good job illustrating each topic. And I like that a wide variety of topics is gone over. I just wish the little explanation on the side was something different. This felt like a mashup of a children’s book and an encyclopedia. I wish the explanation had been a bit more lyrical to better match up with the illustration half. Not sure how much a kid is going to get out of this book to be honest. A lot of the explanations are highly technical and might go over younger readers heads.

Overall I wouldn’t say this is a bad book though. Tentative recommendation for older readers of children’s books.

I love the morbid and macabre so this was the perfect alphabet book, I think this would also be great for little ones to read to expand their vocabulary as in my opinion learning about morbid themes is definitely not a negative thing.

This was a cute and informative book. It acually gives some really good information that may be weird to ask about. I know some of these facts I have wondered about myself. If I had young kids this would be a great Halloween addition, or anytime really. Definitely one to check out.

A children’s book after my own morbid heart! I love spins on alphabet books, especially one that leans into the macabre. The illustrations were great, I love the stuffed bear being the main patient 😆 I also appreciated that a lot of the words weren’t well-known or easy choices, I learned a bit there!

I was uncharacteristically excited to read this book.

Now, usually I’m not inherently interested in the macabre nature of the world and, in fact, I generally avoid it. But I have a pretty phenomenal student right now who is actually rather obsessed with death. The second I saw this book, I immediately thought of this student and how much this book was right up their alley.

All of that said, I was actually pretty disappointed when I finished it.

This isn’t about the concept content of the book; while dark and sinister and somewhat gross at times, for those who are deeply interested or entertained by these things it’s utterly brilliant. But I do have a genuine frustration with the complexities of the vocabulary that is used to <i>describe</i> the macabre alphabet words.

Let me put it very simply: this is not a book for children to read. Even for this student I’m thinking of, who is by all accounts a fantastic reader with skills well above their age and grade, <i>far too many</i> of those words would have been exceedingly difficult for them.

Is this a book parents can read to their children and discuss with them? Yeah, sure. But can any parent have any reasonable expectation that their child will be able to read the vast majority of the words in the book until they are well past the age of children who enjoy reading alphabet books? Absolutely not.

This is a big gripe I’m beginning to develop with the children’s publishing world. Reading level wise, this book is middlegrade at <i>best</i> and young adult at worst. The pronunciation of the complex alphabet words does not resolve the fact that you’re also using ridiculously complex words to explain what the alphabet word means. They’re difficult for children to read and any parent reading this with their kid is going to have to stop <i>so many times</i> to explain what the word being used to define the new word they’ve been introduced to means.

I just…no.

The only thing that really could have saved this would be if the book were written in such a way that it had tiered definitions for kiddos to age up to. Your alphabet-learner isn’t going to be able to read the word “numerous” and it’s a ridiculous word to use when “lots of” or “many” will do the trick just fine.

You don’t need to list off what germs are (bacteria/viruses/prions/fungi) and include words like microorganisms. You can just use the word germs and let the kid read about how germs can make people sick and if they don’t see a doctor they could die. Don’t use words like “untreated” and expect a kindergartner to break a 3-syllable word when they’re barely introduced to 2-syllables.

Artwork was fun and exciting, if a little morbid—though I do believe that was the point.

The content and the educational opportunity is great…I just wish the author had really thought to consider who would be reading this book and what it would mean to those readers to have such difficult words all over the place.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for allowing me access to the arc of this title!

The Morbid Alphabet Book is a macabre take on the ABC's that not only celebrates the darker side of words, but also educates in the reader with interesting facts.

Great for kids (or adults!) that have an interest in science, anatomy, or the strange and unusual. As someone who loves creepy and unusual facts, I would have loved this as a child and can't wait to share this with my kids!

The Morbid Alphabet book by Gabrielle Ferrara is great fun. The choice of less common words is inspired and the only thing I would adjust would be the colour of the bones in the letters but the graphic styling is delightful

Thank you to Netgalley, and Gabrielle Ferrara for this fantastic ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This was so cute, I definitely have to buy a copy for my littles. I love the Victorian gothic aspect. The illustrations were the cutest version of macabre they could be. I also learned a couple new words myself reading this. Highly recommend for you lovers of weird or unusual. It’ll fit right in on our bookshelves.

Loved it!

Each page has an illustration and a description of the word.

Educating and also funny.

Perfect for the morbid mind!

This book gave me everything I wanted . If you like macabre this book is for you. I learned a lot of new words that I have never heard before. Perfect gift book.

I loved this. I loved the art, I did enjoy the charming morbidity of it. I also liked that it gave definitions of the words, and showed how to pronounce them. This is a book I would love to own.

M is for Macabre indeed! This is a cute little book for all the cool morbid kiddos out there. Would be perfect for my little 5 year old weirdo. I even learned a couple new words myself.