Alphabatics

by Suse MacDonald
Illustration by Suse MacDonald

Price: $19.95

For the child who thrives on creativity, this book uses clever drawings of contorted letters to make learning the alphabet fun. Each page features a three-or-four transformation from the letter to an object beginning with the letter. Kids will enjoy seeing how the letter "d" twists and turns itself to become a dragon's tail or how the letter "p" flips on its side and takes off as a plane. The simple alphabet format and colorful illustrations make this book ideal for early preschoolers.

As kids begin to learn their letters, you can ask them which letter is featured on the page. While many of the objects in the book are common to young children, there will probably be a few new vocabulary words also. After reading the book a few times, kids may begin to remember that Q is for quail or X is for xylophone. Artistic children may even be inspired to create their own letter transformations.

I read this story to Emily, the three-year-old who I babysit. She is just learning the shapes of the letters and she loves watching the transformations. We follow each step to see how the owl's eyes are the shape of the letter "O" and the elephant's feet begin as the letter "E." She also excitedly shouted out the words when she recognized the photo and asked to read the book over and over again. I think the creative ways that the letters are portrayed helps children become excited about looking at the pictures and, in turn, learning the alphabet.

--Abby