Artwork / Baby Sees ABCs

A is for angelfish, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel B is for bunny rabbit, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel C is for civet, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel D is for dumbo octopus, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel E is for echidna, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel F is for fennec fox, alphabet book image by wildlife painter Gwenn Seemel G is for grasshopper, alphabet book painting by wildlife artist Gwenn Seemel H is for Havanese dog, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel I is for indri, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel J is for jellyfish, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel K is for kodkod, alphabet book image by wildlife painter Gwenn Seemel L is for lobster, alphabet book image by wildlife painter Gwenn Seemel M is for moose, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel N is for nedoceratops, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel O is for okapi, alphabet book painting by wildlife artist Gwenn Seemel P is for puffin, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel Q is for quokka, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel R is for raccoon, alphabet book image by wildlife painter Gwenn Seemel S is for sandpiper, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel T is for tarantula, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel U is for unicorn, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel V is for vulture, alphabet book painting by wildlife artist Gwenn Seemel W is for wallaby, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel X is for xylophrog, alphabet book illustration art by Gwenn Seemel Y is for yabby, alphabet book image by wildlife painter Gwenn Seemel Z is for zorilla, alphabet book painting by American artist Gwenn Seemel

We may have never met, but we are already hard at work on a collaborative project together. This particular team effort is so vital to everyday life that we forget it even exists. It shapes our experiences and molds our behaviors. It is at the core of our identity as a species.

We call this collaboration “language.”

You may think of language more in terms of communication rather than collaboration, but the simple truth is that, if we don’t agree on the meaning of sounds and the letters that represent them, then language can’t exist. That consensus, reinvented and reaffirmed repeatedly over millennia, is our oldest and most layered collaboration, and it begins with the alphabet.

Baby Sees ABCs celebrates our cooperation in a multitude of ways. The series and the book were crowdfunded with the support of 83 people who chose which animals represent each letter and who also provided many of the first names which are embedded in the images. These names serve as tools for letter recognition, but they are more than that too. They are proof that we are not alone. We exist as part of a larger community connected by language and by our extraordinary ability to work together.

Baby Sees ABCs invites kids first to learn their alphabet and then to look again: at the art and at how it came about, but also at the animals and at how humans are just one among many species enjoying this earth.

When we focus on the collaborative aspect of language, we aren’t just raising children who will appreciate the value of working together. We are helping the next generation to create a kinder, more thoughtful future.

 
Baby Sees ABCs, the book
Baby Sees ABCs, the book

The book includes the images plus info on the animals and a name key for the 676 first names.

Baby Sees ABCs is available for $20. This price does not include shipping or tax, which will be calculated by Lulu, the service that prints and ships the book.

$20

“Ask someone what their favorite children’s book was and they’ll likely have a quick answer. The messages and illustrations from these books create lifelong memories. But Lambertville painter Gwenn Seemel’s animal alphabet book Baby Sees ABCs connects with kids another way.”

- Jenna Intersimone, mycentraljersey.com, November 2022

“A theme running through the entire project is collaboration—in the decision-making process shared by supporter and artist; in the name seek-and-find created by the artist for the viewer; and in the alphabet itself.”

- Victoria Ford, The SandPaper, July 2020

“With a style both earthy and electrifying, Seemel is able to transcend beauty within the meaning of life.”

- Lana Leonard, Out In Jersey, July 2020

photo of a baby with Gwenn Seemel’s baby book
photo of a Baby Sees ABCs admirer

Baby Sees ABCs has been exhibited four times in New Jersey: at Wildflowers Too in Barnegat Light in 2020, at the Princeton Public Library in 2021, at the Lambertville Free Public Library in 2022, and at the Englewood Public Library in 2023.