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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Typical Dr. Seuss illustrations and a lot of fun words and situations. No surprise that there's some made up stuff, too! But, it all works to teach kids their letters and the sounds they typically make. It is a little long, but what alphabet book isn't? Twenty-six letters is a lot to introduce to preschoolers at once. When I use this in story time I'll probably skip the extras on several of the spreads (meaning I'll just say the letter and ask the kids what sound it makes, or maybe what words they can think of that start with that letter instead of reading Seuss's text out loud). It seems sacrilegious, but I've got a room full of 2-5 year olds and I need the book to be a little more interactive. It will be a good addition!
This book shaped my childhood. I went looking through several ABC books with my mother the other day and when we came across this one she said to me, "Thanks to you, I've memorized this book!" I eyed her suspiciously and tested her by opening the book and telling her to read it to me without looking at it. To my surprise, she started, "Big A little a What Begins with A? Aunt Annie's alligator.....A...a...A." I widened my eyes in shock and she continued with B and it just amazed me that she still remembered this book's text years and years later. This Seuss original has done the same to many parents and children everywhere, I am sure. A great thing about this book is how throughout the whole book, it goes back and repeats the alphabet up to the point where the letter that Seuss is on next. After the letter Y, it repeats the whole alphabet again until it reaches Z. It does this in between some other letters too. This is useful because it is repetitive which is very helpful for children who are first learning a new concept. What is so fun about reading Dr. Seuss' children's books is that they are illustrated in such odd ways. Children and parents alike love it because it is so amusing and it makes children laugh. When we get to the letter L in this book, there is a picture of a "lazy lion licking a lollipop" which is amusing because no one ever thinks of a lion licking a lollipop. This kind of humor is what helps children remember their ABC's. This is why I chose this book for the ABC book, because it makes children and parents and teachers laugh. Both the text and the illustrations keeps their attention throughout the whole novel, especially if read in a fun and silly voice. I hope to read this to my own future children someday and I hope that it inspires them to remember the alphabet at a very early age, just like it did for me.