This highly-interactive book is a creative way to teach your little one the letters of the alphabet. The organization of the book is what makes it stand out from the rest; each page consists of a fold down page that looks like an envelope with one letter of the alphabet and a cartoon on front. There is also a creative return address, such as "Bookville" for 'B', "Cook's Crossing" for 'C', and "Queensville" for 'Q'. When readers fold down the page, it includes a short note in the form of a letter about many things that begin with that same letter of the alphabet. Every word that begins with the featured letter is in bold print to help bring attention to it. The pictures always depict fun cartoon animals doing silly things that coincide with the appropriate letter. For example, Carl and Cathy Camel love to cook using their colorful cookbook. There is plenty of color, action, and words to captivate your child's attention.
The book opens with a note to the parents, explaining the most effective method of reading and presenting the book to their little one in order to aid in their awareness. It suggests you say the name of the letter, imitate the sound it makes, then point to the word given and emphasize the letter sound as your read. Practice this approach with your little one and marvel at how quickly they catch on. The book also offers some games to play while reading the book to help strengthen your child's recognition and understanding of the letters, such as picking letters at random and having your child point to all of the things in the picture that begin with that letter, or providing your little one with a letter from the book and asking them to draw a picture of anything that begins with that same letter. There are countless more games that you can create with your child, depending on their learning style, pace, and needs.
My friend, Nick, loved the 'D' letter the most, because it featured dinosaurs. He guessed it would have dogs (his other favorite animal), and was extra excited to see that it was actually a letter from Dina Dinosaur talking about her doughnut-loving dog! Nick and I had a blast trying to guess what would be inside of each letter. Sometimes we could get one or two words correct, but they are pretty creative and we were often way off. However, it was fun to be wrong in this case because it meant there was a surprise waiting behind the fold-down page.
--Audra