Alphabet Adventure

Alphabet Adventure

by Audrey Wood
Illustration by Bruce Wood and Guy Parker-Rees

All the little letters of the alphabet are getting ready for a big adventure. They have learned their proper order, from a to z, and now they're ready to go to school. But something is wrong! Little i has lost her dot, and none of the letters can find it. Can you?

Children will have a great time finding and identifying the "little" letters on every page - and when the little letters meet up with a party of "big" letters, the entire alphabet, large and small, can be found in one exuberant scene. From games of hide-and-seek to a wealth of teaching tools, you're off on an Alphabet Adventure - learning the alphabet has never been so much fun!

Your little one may never look at the alphabet the same again. Alphabet Adventure is a story where the characters are letters - upper and lower case - who are practicing their alphabetical order and preparing to meet the boy, Charley, whom they will help with his ABCs. The plot is presented clearly with a few twists thrown in to keep readers guessing. The pictures have neon high color contrasts, extensive shading, creative views, and a great amount of detail. The pictures range from taking up a full page, two-page spreads, and occasionally have smaller panel pictures off to the side.

There are plenty of opportunities for your child to better establish, or show off, their alphabet knowledge. At one point the little letters line up in order and shout out their names, another time they each find an object that starts with them as a letter, and at the end of the book, the whole alphabet is displayed with capital and lowercase letters side-by-side. When the little letters were so excited that they couldn't remember their correct order, perhaps your child will be able to help them out. The items found by the lower case letters also provide great memory aides for your child; the 'e' finds an egg, the 'v' finds a violin, the 'h' finds a heart, and so on. You can add even more fun to the story by using distinctive and goofy voices for the letters, as there is plenty of dialogue throughout the book.

My five-year-old friend, Molly, loved the pictures in this book. She thought the page with the capital letters having a party was the best because, "It looks fun!" However, she pointed out that the party was missing a cake. I asked her what her favorite letter was and, of course, she said "M!" But, Molly surprised me by adding, "Because that's what Mom starts with."

--Audra

MJ was very intrigued by this book. He sat still and quiet through the whole thing, he didn't say a word (this is amazing for a squirmy, talkative 3 year old). He was following along with the adventure as the story required that you read the alphabet aloud in the correct order, meet up with a party of capital letters and search for that missing dot! I would recommend this book to any parent with children 3-5 years old. It is an exciting way to get your child involved in learning his or her ABC's.

--Deanna Underwood, Mommy Gaga