Take Away the A

Take Away the A
by Michaël Escoffier (author of Brief Thief, Me First! and The Day I Lost My Superpowers)

illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo

Enchanted Lion Books, due out September 12, 2014

review copy provided by the publisher

You will want this book. I guarantee it.

Best. Alphabet Book. Ever.

This is the kind of mentor text that makes you want to try writing this way...right NOW.

Here's a taste:

"Without the A
the BEAST is BEST.

Without the B
the BRIDE goes for a RIDE.

Without the C
the CHAIR has HAIR."

See what I mean?

I wish you could actually see the book, because the other part of the fun is finding the duck, the mice, the octopus, the monkey, and the cats in spreads other than their own throughout the book.

Need a quote for a slide in your word study/vocabulary presentation? From the press release:

"Since we are really only able to think about the world, ourselves, and the nature of life itself (along with everything else) within the vocabulary that is available to us, the richer and more nuanced our language is, the richer our possibilities for thinking and understanding become. From this point of view, the ethical, political, cultural and intellectual imperatives for deepening a child's sense of language and its possibilities are profound. Giving them the idea that language is a vital material with which they can make and build and shape their world is so clearly of vital importance."

What are you waiting for?

Z is For Moose

Z is For Moose
by Kelly Bingham
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow Books, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Zebra is putting on a production of the alphabet. Everything is going just fine ("A is for Apple/B is for Ball/C is for Cat") when suddenly Moose breaks in -- "D is for Moose." Moose keeps asking if it's his turn through E, F, G, H, I, J, and K. Anticipation builds on L, and then...

"M is for Mouse."

Moose goes ballistic, completely wrecking the set for N, O, P, and Q. Just like Melanie Watt's Chester, Moose takes his red crayon to R and S, and then Zebra protects T-Y with his life.

Good ol' Zebra finds a way to include Moose in the end!

I loved this book immediately and shared it with my students when the F&Gs came a few months ago. When I got my Horn Book Magazine this week, I was pleased to receive a confirmation of my opinion. The book received a starred review from Horn Book!

Alphabet Fun

Remember how much my students and I loved E-Mergency! by Tom Lichtenheld and Ezra Fields-Meyer? (my review is here)

Well, I've got another pair of alphabet book that I'm betting stay off the shelf more than on, just like E-Mergency!.

A Call for a New Alphabet
by Jef Czekaj (Jef's website)
Charlesbridge, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

First sentence on the front flap: "X is tired of being at the back of every alphabet book." There's the "major conflict" in the story.

First sentence on the back flap: "Jef Czekaj has a BA in linguistics." That explains just about everything else.

Because X is tired of being at the back of the alphabet, and because he thinks more words should begin with him, X starts a campaign to change both the order of the letters in the alphabet, and their roles there.

The night before the big vote, X has some strange dreams that make clear to him the hard work of the other consonants in the alphabet. He turns to the vowels for an easier job, but find that they, of all the letters, best understand that the letters of the alphabet have to work together, rather than in competition. Each has an important job to do.

The illustrations are filled with all kinds of alphabetic sight-gags that will keep readers busy thinking about letters and words and the crazy English language.

Al Pha's Bet
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Amy's website)
illustrated by Delphine Durand (Delphine's blog)
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Al, the guy who lived back in history "when all sorts of things were being invented. Like fire. The wheel. Shadows." decides that he wants to invent the order for the newly invented set of twenty-six letters. He bets himself that he can win the King's contest to organize the letters with the most beautiful arrangement.

Al has quite amusing (and incredibly LOGICAL) reasons for the order of the letters. When he presents his order to the king, "The king said it out loud. The king tried singing it. The king wanted to sing it again. He said to Al, 'This time, won't you sing with me?' " (Groan.)

You can guess by the title -- Al won the bet he made with himself. And that's how the twenty-six letters have come to be known as the Al Pha Bet. (Groan.)

2 GREAT NEW ABC BOOKS

I love unique ABC books and I recently found two that I can't wait to share with kids!

CAVEMAN ABC STORY by Janee Trasler is a fun story about a Caveman and his pet(s). It begins with the letter A, when the Caveman and his pet Squirrel find an "ACORN". But the word on the 2nd page is "BEAR" and you know what that means. The author takes us through the letters of the alphabet, using one word for each letter, to tell us a story of the caveman.  First of all, this is a fun, unique ABC book in that it tells a complete story with only one word per letter/page. 

APPLE PIE ABC was similar in format, but relied on phrases rather than single words to tell the story.  (It would be fun to pair these two.) Not only is CAVEMAN ABC STORY a fun concept, but the illustrations are colorful and fun. This is definitely a book that kids will want to pick up.  And it is a great book for new readers--it will support picture reading, word work strategies, storytelling and more.  A MUST HAVE, I think:-)

The other new ABC book I love is IF ROCKS COULD SING: A DISCOVERED ALPHABET by Leslie McGuirk (I learned about this one from Bill at Literate Lives.)  Author, Leslie McGuirk began a collection of rocks years ago when she noticed rocks that looked like letters. This book showcases her collection in Alphabet Book format. Not only has Leslie McGuirk found rocks that look like every letter of the alphabet, but she's also found rocks that look like objects that begin with each letter of the alphabet. So, on the "T is for Toast" page, we get to see the rock that is shaped like the letter T as well as the rock shaped like toast (which is displayed on a plate with a knife and butter:-).  This is an amazing book once you understand that these are real rocks that the author found. This would be a fun one for beginning readers. I can also see it as a tie-in to any landforms/erosion/weather type of unit that teachers do in Science--how did these rocks become these shapes?

A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET by Debra Frasier

When I taught Kindergarten and 1st grade, I had a huge collection of alphabet books in my classroom. They are such a great genre for young children.  Now that I am a librarian, I don't think we can have too many good alphabet books. So, I am always thrilled when I find a good new alphabet book to add to the collection.

Yesterday at Cover to Cover, I spotted A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET by Debra Frasier. The colors on the cover immediately caught my eye. Bright, bold colors against a white background.

Each page of this great alphabet book focuses on one thing that you see at the fair. Cotton Candy....Lemonade....Tractor. Alongside the illustration of the object is the word, made up of various letter styles from the fair.  Around the page are many versions of the letter that the word starts with. From reading the inside flap of the book, I learned that Debra Frasier loves the state fair and took photos of the lettering at the fair.  She used these photos to create this book and the end pages give a clue into some of her work. They are filled with photos of the fair--photos that include lettering and photos that do not include lettering.

I love so much about this book.  First of all, I love cotton candy and any book that includes cotton candy is a must-have for me.  But I love the letter and they way they are used on each page. So many different types of each letter.  For young children who are just starting to recognize the different ways one letter can look, this is a great resource. I can see kids wanting to create their own words out of letters they find in newspapers and magazines.  For older kids, this is an amazing piece of art.  So much to look at on every page.

I was thrilled to find a fun game and video from Debra Frasier connected to this book. If you visit her website, you can download a game card to take with you to the fair--looking for words all over.

The Sleepy LIttle Alphabet

Another pairing of two of my favorite people--How could I not like THE SLEEPLY LITTLE ALPHABET when I saw that it was written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This book reminded me a bit of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when I read it.  All of the letters are trying to fall asleep but they really can't.  H is busy standing on her head and i and j are jumping on the bed.  So goes the story of the letters at bedtime.  The book goes through the alphabet and the letters are finally in bed. 

This is a great alphabet book to add to your collection if you teach primary grades.  The illustrations--as I have come to expect from Melissa Sweet--are amazing.  Different from some of her other work but really fun and wonderful in the details and uniqueness. The illustrations give the book a very fun feel. 

This book can be enjoyed by kids learning the letters and or letter sounds of the alphabet.  Letters on the end pages, on every page of the book and then in their beds at the end of the story will be fun for kids just starting to understand print.  This would also make a great read aloud--at home or at school.  And the story is a fun one, especially when you put the text and the illustrations together. These letter characters have quite the personalities!