BOOKS & BOXSETS
For almost three years, wherever he went, Victor Stabin brought a dictionary along for the ride. By spelunking more than 8,000 pages of multiple dictionaries, he discovered the words from which he would create Daedal Doodle. Reading ABC books to his young daughters, his love of words, and an inability to curb his incessant doodling inspired Victor’s improbable alliterative combinations and the illustrations that form the heart of his book.
In those pages are vain snails; a small-headed monster looking for love; subatomic sheep and a prehistoric horse with a dental hygienist. There are captivating illustrations, quirky words, and illuminating definitions. From A to Z, readers of all ages will learn the alphabet from creatures ranging from the Apperceptive Achatina to the Zooid Zeppelin’s Zygote.
In his heart he knew he was creating a work that despite the use of unusually obtuse words, would have broad appeal and challenge the ABC status quo. Stabin’s ultimate result is a platform that bridges literate curiosity across multiple generations using mostly common and sometimes extraordinarily uncommon imagery in new and inventive ways.
Editorial Reviews
“Original and Sly” — Susan Orlean of the The New Yorker Magazine
“A Visual Stunner with Delightful Definitions” — Leonard Lopate of WNYC Radio
“Looking at this book was reminiscent of the first time I viewed the work of M.C. Escher.” — Wharton School Professor Jeremy Siegel
While working on Daedal Doodle, I was repeatedly asked, “What are these characters stories?” I was trained from birth to listen to talk radio. As a kid, I grew up listening to New York’s WOR, WINS, and WNYC. As an adult I did not stray far–WNYC (which is my browser’s home page) and of course all things NPR. I did not want to write a book of stories as much as I tried to get back to painting, but the repeated nagging question never stopped coming: “What are these characters stories?”
I began to write stories about these unusual characters, weaving my love of listening to National Public Radio into each short story and Radio Stories: NPR Unauthorized Cautionary Tales was born.
BOXSETS / GUIDE
DAEDAL DOODLE: WORD LOVER’S FLASHCARDS
DAEDAL DOODLE: DICTIONARY CURRICULUM GUIDE
THE ART OF VICTOR STABIN
BOX SET
