Awake Beautiful Child written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Gracia Lam
Alphabet picture book published by McSweeny’s

In this fascinating picture book, Amy Krouse Rosenthal uses only words that begin with A, B or C to tell her story. The day begins as a young boy awakens and enjoys Apples, Bananas and Cantaloupe for breakfast before heading outside and finding Ants, Butterflies and Caterpillars. He later celebrates at a birthday party, explores a city and appreciates an artist. Older children will enjoy scouring debut picture book illustrator Gracia Lam’s detailed digital illustrations for an apron, bowling pins, binoculars, a castle, a cape, a church (and more!) that serve to broaden the appeal of the story and support the development of phonemic awareness and alphabet recognition.

It is worth mentioning that Ms. Rosenthal and Ms. Lam do not limit the story or illustrations to the phoneme /K/, they also challenge readers to recognize the use of ‘C’ in words beginning with the /ch/ and soft ‘C’ sounds, as in church and city. the ‘A’ words that we detected use the short vowel sound.

We envision this picture book as a wonderful inspiration to young illustrators and writers. Great for classroom use, the clever take on the alphabet book genre could certainly be a jumping off point for children to create their own stories and illustrations using only two or three letters.

This is a picture book that will be enjoyed by children aged 3 and up but that has great potential for exciting older children and adults.

Awake Beautiful Child at Amazon.com

Awake Beautiful Child at Amazon.ca

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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
Classic Picture Book published by Simon & Schuster

It sounds like fun when lowercase letters A, B, and C decide to meet at the top of a tall coconut tree but the message spreads like wildfire and they are not the only letters scrambling up the tree trunk and hiding among the palm fronds. Before long, the entire lowercase alphabet is weighing down the tree branches and trunk. Slowly the heavily laden tree bends until it cannot support another thing.

Still more – W
And X Y Z!
The whole alphabet up the – Oh, no!
Chicka chicka…
BOOM! BOOM!

Two coconuts crash to the ground and then all the lower case letters are thrown from the tree and land in a twisted heap. Moments later, adults (uppercase letters) rush to the scene, embracing their offspring and offering reassurance.

Bright, distinctive, bold illustrations nicely compliment the rhythmic, repetitious text. This is a alphabet book with many possible extension activities. It belongs on every child’s bookshelf.

Kentucky Bluegrass Award for K-3 (1991),
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nominee for Picture Book – Honor Book (1990)
School Library Journal Top 100 Picture Book
New York Public Library 100 Great Children’s Books

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom at Amazon.com

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom at Amazon.ca

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Help Kids learn letters of the alphabet with this fun and easy-to-make alphabet recognition learning game for preschool or kindergarten

Diecuts With A View Alphabet Scrapbook Paper + A Canning Seal = An easy-to-make Alphabet Recognition Learning Game

This is a very simple-to-make yet effective letter recognition game. I use this activity with small groups (of up to twelve children). Each child receives one canning ring and one page of laminated scrapbook paper. The scrapbook paper has a fairly large alphabet motif on it. In the pictured game, I used DCWV scrapbook paper. I am guessing that it has since been discontinued because I can’t find an example of it on their website.

My Scotch® Laminating Dispenser is 8.5″ wide so I cut the scrapbook paper to fit the laminator and I put Y and Z on the back of the game.

The children sit in a circle and the preschool or kindergarten teacher shows the children a letter or calls out a letter (or letter sound). The children put their rings around the correct letter. It is very easy for a teacher to quickly survey the rings and correct any that are in the wrong place.

This game alphabet learning game could be adapted to show the children an uppercase letter and have them locate the corresponding lowercase letter. Alternatively, the teacher could make the letter sound and the children could locate the corresponding letter.

I like the fact that it is easy to scan all of the children’s rings and quickly identify children who have chosen the wrong letter.

Viceroy Rubber & Plastics 12Pk Red Jar Rubber at Amazon.com

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Today we look at two popular learning games for beginning readers

I have used both spelling/reading games very successfully with four, five and six-year-olds. Neither is appropriate for younger children due to choking hazard caused by small parts.

We invite you to visit our page about beginning to read.

Melissa and Doug See and Spell

I recently purchased a Melissa and Doug See and Spell puzzle set for my Let’s Read Together program. The set consists of 60 plus colorful wooden letters and eight, two-sided template bases. As shown in my photo (right), the sixteen words include long and short vowels as well as digraphs.

I selected the Melissa and Doug See and Spell puzzle set because it is self correcting and it lends itself well to a group setting. When not being used in the template bases, the letters could be used to spell other words, they could be sorted by attributes or they could be put into alphabetical order.

When one or more children play with See and Spell it is an opportunity to practice letter, object and word recognition, matching, fine motor skills and/or spelling.

Melissa & Doug See & Spell at Amazon.com

Melissa & Doug See & Spell at Amazon.ca

Boggle Junior

I have used a Boggle Junior game in my Beginning to Read program for more than ten years. It is a great learning game for children who are learning to read and spell. The game consists of a series of illustrated three and four letter words. The words and illustrations are printed on durable cardstock. To play, a child selects a card and spells the word it illustrates using three or four letter cubes. The cubes fit into a sturdy base. The child has the option of seeing how the word is spelled (and simply matching the letters) or attempting to spell the word correctly and then checking to see if he is correct.

Boggle Junior can be enjoyed by one or more children. When one child plays with Boggle Junior it is an opportunity to practice letter, object and word recognition, fine motor skills, matching and/or spelling. When more than one child plays with Boggle Junior, playing the game becomes an opportunity to share and take turns. If two children are at different levels with respect to spelling and reading, one child could match the letters to correctly spell a word, another child could try to spell each word (without matching) and then flip a lever on the base to check the spelling.

The Boggle Junior word cards include short vowels, some long vowels and a few digraphs (i.e. fish).

Boggle Junior Game at Amazon.com

Boggle Junior Game at Amazon.ca

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Storytime Standouts looks at a stylish picture book, Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet
created by Paul Thurlby
Alphabet book published by Templar Books an imprint of Candlewick Press

Featuring bright, bold retro illustrations, Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet is a stylish tribute to graphic design and each of the letters of the alphabet. Young children will enjoy the dramatic and distinctive artwork while learning about letter shapes and sounds.

On the left side of each spread, we see a single letter in uppercase and lowercase form. The corresponding right side of each spread features an illustration that incorporates the shape of the uppercase letter and minimal text.

Older children and adults will particularly appreciate the aesthetics of Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet, possibly using his ideas as inspiration for their own graphic artwork. Removing the book jacket and opening it reveals a gorgeous poster that highlights each of the illustrations from the book. Lovely.

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet at Amazon.com

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet at Amazon.ca

Paul Thurlby’s PhotoStream on Flickr

Note: When selecting illustrations for the vowels, Thurlby uses a mix of short and long vowel sounds: A = awesome, I = island

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Children enjoy matching upper and lower case letters with this fun activity

This is a great time of year to pick up the makings of an inexpensive, colourful learning aid – at your neighbourhood dollar store. Easter merchandise is starting to appear and we want the multi-coloured two-part Easter eggs. Normally these are filled with candies but we are going to do something altogether different. We are going to use a permanent ink pen to print an upper case letter on one half of an egg and and the corresponding lower case letter on the other half. Children really enjoy searching through the ‘broken’ eggs. matching upper and lower case letters, ultimately assembling twenty-six whole eggs. I like the activity because using five or six colors makes finding a match fairly easy and also makes the activity somewhat self-checking.

For older children, compound words, rhyming words or antonyms could be used.

For more ways to help children learn the alphabet, check out our fee alphabet printables and our page about alphabet recognition.

A word of caution: This activity is not intended for children younger than age 3. Also, to ensure the activity is safe, please use eggs that are large enough to eliminate a risk of choking. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has determined: ‘Any ball with a diameter of 1.75 inches (44.4mm) or less that is intended for use by children younger than 3 years of age is banned.’ This is an excellent guideline – please check the size of the eggs before purchasing them.

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Ways you can help children with b d confusion

I made a presentation last night to a preschool parent group. One of the topics of discussion was how we can help children avoid reading a “b” as a “d” and vice versa. At the presentation, I was not addressing serious learning challenges like Developmental Dyslexia ( a condition / learning disability which causes difficulty with reading and writing). We were discussing ways to assist children with letter recognition and b d confusion. We talked about a few ways to help children correctly identify “d” and “b”.

Method #1: Bat, Ball, Dog, Tail

One mom mentioned that in their household they used the following:

“This is the bat, and this is the ball, together they make a “b”. (Visualize: l + o = b, where “l” is a bat and “o” is a ball)

“This is the dog, and this is the tail, together they make a “d”. (Visualize c+ l = d, where “c” is a dog and “l” is its tail).

Method #2: Printing a ‘d’

The technique involves examining how we print the letter “d”. It looks much like a “c” with a “l” added to it. Using this method, we discuss the fact that c + l = d and “d” is after “c” in the alphabet.

Method #3: ‘b’ sees ‘d’

Relying on alphabetical order (and a little play on words)

Method #4: Bulldozing a b works!

If your child knows that bulldozer begins with ‘b,’ he can use a toy bulldozer to push a letter ‘b.’ Letter ‘d’ is not nearly as cooperative because of its shape.

Method #5: bed

My favourite memory device is to make a “bed” with the child’s fingers. Imagine making two small circles with the thumbs and forefingers, and pointing the remaining fingers upward. Push the two circles together to make a “bed” (minus the “e”). The left hand makes the “b” and the right hand makes the “d.” It looks like this: “bd.” “b” is at the beginning of “bed,” “d” is at the end of bed.

Note, these methods will not work with very young children. With Method 3 especially, the child needs to know how to spell ‘bed’ in order for this device to be effective. From my perspective, with very young children, we should not worry about the occasional reversal. We can simply say, ‘That is a b. It makes the /b/ sound.’ With children who are starting to read, I find Method #3 to be very effective and easy to remember. I have seen children as old as seven do a quick check (underneath a desktop or tabletop) and then read a word with confidence.

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b and d (bed) poster from Activity Village

If you know memory devices for b c confusion, I’d love to hear from you. Please jump in with a comment.

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Alphabet books come in an amazing array of themes and formats. Whether your child loves rescue vehicles, solving puzzles, cooking or nonsense rhymes, there are alphabets books to explore and enjoy.

Note: For printable alphabets, The Alphabet Song and activities to help your child learn the alphabet. be sure to check out our Alphabet Recognition page and our Printable Alphabets page.

Alphabet Explosion! Search and Count from Alien to Zebra by John Nickle

Alphabet Explosion presents 26 challenging visual puzzles that will appeal to both youngsters and adults. With a full-page illustration and the number of things to ‘spy’ for each letter, you and your child(ren) could spend hours with this book. On the page for ‘S’, we are told to look for 47 things that begin with ‘S’. You might expect a snake – but would you recognize ‘slithering’ as well? Good luck!

Alphabet Explosion!: Search and Count from Alien to Zebra at Amazon.com

Alphabet Explosion!: Search and Count from Alien to Zebra at Amazon.ca

Alphabet Rescue – written by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Bruce Wood

Fans of Audrey and Bruce Wood’s Alphabet Adventure and Alphabet Mystery will be delighted to know about this new concept book. The creators could not have picked a more appealing storyline than to have the ‘little letters’ build their own fire truck. When the ‘big’ fire truck breaks down, it is up to the ‘little letters’ to come to the rescue and put out a fire in the letter-making factory. Beautiful illustrations have so much to offer those learning the alphabet.

Alphabet Rescue at Amazon.com

Alphabet Rescue at Amazon.ca

Eating the Alphabet Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z By Lois Ehlert

Here’s a serving of veggies that will appeal to even the pickiest eater. Big, bold illustrations of familiar (apple) and not-so-familiar (jicama) fruits and vegetables make for a delightful alphabet book. Reading it might convince your child to sample something new and vitamin-rich, possibly the whole alphabet!

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z at Amazon.com

Eating The Alphabet at Amazon.ca

G is for One Gzonk! An Alpha-Number-Bet Book written and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi (a.k.a. Tiny Diterlizzi)

In the Style of Dr. Seuss, here we meet Tiny DiTerlooney. He warns us that we ought to “say good-bye to boring books where bears can bounce a ball.” Instead, he uses delightful watercolor illustrations to introduce twenty-six highly original ‘Creachlings.’ Lots of fun – especially for older children who will relish an all-new take on the alphabet.

G Is for One Gzonk!: An Alpha-number-bet Book at Amazon.com

G Is for One Gzonk!: An Alpha-number-bet Book at Amazon.ca

Read Sing Play ABC Sing-Along – written by Teddy Slater, illustrated by Liisa Chauncy Guida

Twenty-six sing-along songs, with mostly familiar tunes offer a fun introduction to letter sounds and rhyming. Fun illustrations (including ten touch and feel textures & four pull-tabs) together with a pleasing CD make this a great resource for families and classrooms.

Abc Sing-along at Amazon.com

ABC Sing-Along at Amazon.ca

More excellent picture books you will want to check out!

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I consider myself fortunate to live not far from the Pacific Ocean. Every summer we camp on the shore of Howe Sound and, even while at home, I am close to fresh salt air and pounding surf.

It is almost impossible to walk along an oceanside beach without noticing something special. We’ve seen all sorts of shells, crabs, barnacles, mussels and the occasional tiny fish. When we venture further afield, we’ve been excited to spot starfish, sand dollars, jellyfish and more. I love beachcombing – especially with young children.

In If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet , Leslie McGuirk shows us treats that many of us could completely overlook when exploring a shoreline. Ms. McGuirk is an avid observer and, over many years, has amassed an exciting collection. She has gathered together all sorts of eye-catching and intriguing rocks. She has one for every letter of the alphabet as well as a bird, a couch potato, a dog, an elephant…



Young children will thoroughly enjoy exploring If Rocks Could Sing and are certain to want their own collection of intriguing rocks. Share this with children aged three and up and you’re sure to be setting off on your own quest for rocks that sing.
If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet at Amazon.com

If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet at Amazon.ca

Note – photo was taken (by me) at Porteau Cove campground on the Sea to Sky Highway in British Columbia.

Storytime Standouts - Raising Children Who Love to Read

Here is a fun, easy-to-make activity for learning letters. Check out your neighbourhood dollar store for seasonal banners. The two I found are each nearly three feet long. They each have a series of Easter bunnies on them. The first one I prepared, was for children who are learning letters. I added alphabet stickers and laminated it.

Have a child gently grip one end of the banner, close their eyes and say, “Go, go, go, STOP!” As the child says, “Go, go, go,” slide the banner through their fingers. When they say, “STOP,” ask them to open their eyes and read the letter on the nearest bunny. For older children, make it more difficult by asking them to read the letter and say a word that starts with it.

For children who can read, print words on the bunnies. I used the “ot” family for my bunnies and carrots banner.

Borders and trims will also work well. Here are some examples that could be cut and laminated.

For all sorts of printable alphabets, The Alphabet Song and activities to help your child learn letters, be sure to check out our Alphabet Recognition page.

Follow this link to our Spring and Easter theme printables for preschool and kindergarten

Our early literacy printables, including our learning letters printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.

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If you are helping a young child to learn letters, we suggest that using a white board can be a fun way to discover letter shapes

Here’s a white board game that encourages youngsters to think about letter shapes. Begin by drawing part of a letter using a dry erase marker. For example “l” could be part of “B”. “D”, “E”, “F”, “H:, “I”, “K”, “L”, “M”, “N”, and more. Add another “piece of the puzzle” – perhaps a horizontal line ( for “E” or “H”). Continue adding bits of the letter until the correct letter is guessed or revealed. This activity draws attention to the ways letters are alike and different and is played enthusiastically in a group setting.

Be sure to check out our printable alphabets and our alphabet recognition page– more great resources for children learning letters.

As an aside, white boards are often very appealing to young learners – and not just those who are learning letters! When mistakes are made, the “evidence” is quickly erased. I’ve found white boards very helpful for reviewing spelling and doing math. Crayola makes “kid friendly” dry erase markers in a variety of colours. I’ve had good success with them and use them in my classes.

Crayola 8 Count Dry Erase Markers Chisel Tip at Amazon.com

Crayola 8 Count Dry-Erase Markers-Assorted Colors 8 at Amazon.ca/Pkg

Board Dudes Double Sided Dry Erase Lapboard, 9 x 12 Inches at Amazon.com

Board Dudes Double Sided Dry Erase Lapboard, 9 x 12 Inches at Amazon.ca

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It isn’t long before children grow tired of using flash cards as a way to support learning. In my experience, creating games that use dice, markers and spinners is much more fun for everyone. Games also add an element of “chance” – Mom, Dad, younger brother and older sister all have an opportunity to win or lose.

Today’s Consonant Game download is a very simple board game that can be used a number of ways. Roll a die, move the right number of spaces and say the letter name. For an older child, roll a die, move the right number of spaces and say the letter sound or say (or spell) a word that begins (or ends) with the letter. The Consonant Game Board is a fun activity that can be used by several children at different ages and different reading levels.

Enjoy!

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Note: For activities to help your child learn the alphabet. be sure to check out our Alphabet Recognition page and for printable alphabets and the Alphabet Song, check out our free Alphabet Printables page.

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Use wooden or plastic clothespins and a permanent ink pen to create an inexpensive alphabet matching and/or ABC “order” activity, Clothespin Letter Match.

To make your own Clothespin Letter Match, begin by printing one letter on each clothespin. I hold the clothespin in my hand and point the open jaws away from me when I do this. When the activity is complete, have your child “pin” the clothespin to the matching letter or picture.

I’ve made several of these over the years. I particularly like the plastic clothespins because they often come in a variety of colours. One of the activities I made uses four strips of coloured cardstock (four different colours), clothespins in the same four colours and an alphabet border (cut into four pieces). I glue the alphabet border to the cardstock , laminate the cardstock and then print the matching letters onto the clothespins. Using four different colours makes it a manageable activity for young children. Some children will “match” the letters while others will use their knowledge of the alphabet to put the clothespins in ABC order. Either way, it is an alphabet recognition activity with the added bonus of using fine motor skills to manipulate the clothespins successfully.

This is very similar to the alphabet border I used for the clothespin letter match activity.

Alphabet Border at Amazon.ca

Plastic clothespins at Amazon.ca

Note: clothespins are not toys and can be taken apart quite easily. Please provide adult supervision.

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An inexpensive beach ball and a permanent marker are all you need to make this fun learning game. Inflate the beach ball and use the marker to print uppercase or lowercase letters all over the ball. Underline each letter so there is no confusion between “M” and “W” or “p” and “d.” Toss the ball and have the person who catches the ball say the letter name closest to or under one hand. If the child knows the letter names, make the game trickier by asking for the letter sound or a word that begins with the letter.

Note: For printable alphabets, The Alphabet Song and activities to help your child learn the alphabet. be sure to check out our Alphabet Recognition page.

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This week our six posts will each provide activities for helping a young child to learn the alphabet, including matching uppercase and lowercase letters.

Today we are providing two free alphabet printables in PDF format. Each PDF has a grid and twenty-five letters (X is missing). One grid has uppercase letters (capital letters), the other has lowercase letters (small letters).

Print each of the PDFs onto colored cardstock. If you wish, decorate one PDF with colourful stickers. We used Stickopotamus Tropical Fish to decorate ours.

If desired, laminate both. We always use our Scotch Laminating Dispenser to laminate learning games and provide durability.




Cut one or both of the PDFs along the gridlines to create a matching game.

Matching Upper Case and Lower Case Letters of the Alphabet

Our early childhood literacy printables, including our alphabet matching printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.

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Learning the Alphabet Could Include Using a Letter Bag With Your Child! Make Teaching the Alphabet a Tactile Activity

An important step in learning to read is for children to name and quickly recognize letters. As part of learning the alphabet, we will draw a child’s attention to how letters are alike and how they are different. We will encourage children to notice that letters are made up of straight lines (“T”) and curvy lines (“S”) and a combination of the two (“B”). We point out that letters can be very different (“T” and “O”) or very alike (“N” and “M”).

As adults, we tend to think of learning the alphabet as a visual activity (i.e. using books, pencils and paper) but children can also learn to notice how letters are alike and different by using their sense of touch and by actively exploring the letters. When we use a letter bag, we introduce “tactile or Kinaesthetic” learning – learning the alphabet by doing, touching and feeling.

I made my own letter bag from a bright, colourful fabric print. If you don’t need yours to be durable, a paper bag will work equally well. I used four or five wooden letters that I purchased at a dollar store, you could use foam or wooden letters from a puzzle or magnetic letters from under your fridge! Try to find letters that are relatively “simple.” For this activity, a basic letter, without embellishment is best.

The letter bag and letters are intended to be used by an adult and a child (or children) together. Ideally, the adult begins by talking about the shapes and attributes of four or five letters before putting them in the bag. Point out how the letters are alike and how they are different. Name the letters. Once the child knows about the letters, put them all in the bag. Have the child reach into the bag (no peeking) and then ask her to see if she can find a particular letter. As she feels the letters, the adult can talk about the attributes of the letter that the child is trying to find.

For an older child, who knows letter sounds, the adult could say the letter sound and have the child find the right letter in the bag.

Please note: my experience has been that some children find this way of learning the alphabet relatively easy while others will pull all four letters out of the bag before they find the one they are looking for. As adults, we need to be patient and understand that children have different learning styles and the best thing we can do is to offer all sorts of ways for children to discover and learn.

Alphabet Fabric at Amazon.com

Alphabet Fabric at Amazon.ca

Wooden Letters at Amazon.com

Wooden Letters at Amazon.ca

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As adults, we tend to think of reading, learning to read and learning to write as a book-based or pencil-based exercise. Keep in mind that children learn in a variety of ways and providing tactile* experiences is one way to help your child to learn letters of the alphabet kinesthetically.

As part of the letter-learning experience, try the following…Encourage your child to build letters. She could use Lego, K’nex, Tinkertoy, Craft Sticks, or Pipe Cleaners.

Building letters will help your child to notice how letters are alike and different. It will help your child to notice that letters can be round or straight – or a combination of round and straight.

Have your child make letters in sand, mud or shaving cream. Drawing the alphabet in thick, interesting textures will add an extra dimension to the learning process.

Use Masking Tape or Sidewalk Chalk to make giant letters inside or outside. Walk, hop or skip the alphabet. Movement is another way to reinforce learning and it’s fun!

Have your child sort magnetic (or other 3-D) letters. Make three groups: letters that are made up of only straight lines (M,X,I), letters that are made up of only curvy lines (S,O,C) and letters that are made up of a mix of straight and curvy lines (B,D,J). An alphabet sorting activity like this can be done long before children know letter names or sounds.

Remember, children learn in a variety of ways. Providing tactile* experiences makes for fun play and an opportunity to boost letter recognition.

Note: You will find many printable alphabets here. You will find The Alphabet Song and activities to help your child learn the alphabet on our Alphabet Recognition page.

* relating to the sense of touch

Storytime Standouts - Raising Children Who Love to Read

Having alphabet books available for your children, is one way to make your home literacy-friendly.

Today I will look at five diverse alphabet books. Just looking at the titles and cover art of the books gives us a hint of the broad range of style and content that alphabet books can encompass.

Do Your ABC’s, Little Brown Bear written by Jonathan London and illustrated by Margie Moore
Alphabet Book for preschoolers published by Puffin; Reprint edition

Beginning with Do Your ABC’s, Little Brown Bear we discover a way to help a child learn her alphabet. On a walk with Papa, Little Brown Bear looks for things that begin with each letter of the alphabet. I enjoyed the sweet interaction between Papa and Little Brown Bear. It is hard to imagine any family sharing the book without embarking on their own alphabet exploration. Appropriate for children aged three and up.

Do Your ABC’s, Little Brown Bear at Amazon.com

Do Your ABC’s Little Brown Bear at Amazon.ca

Northern Lights A to Z written and illustrated by Mindy Dwyer
Alphabet Book for kindergarten published by Sasquatch Books

Northern Lights A to Z will appeal mainly to older children (aged five and up) particularly those who have a special interest in the night sky or legends. Beautifully illustrated, the author seamlessly mixes science and myths and shares her knowledge in an engaging, accessible format. I can still remember the emotions I felt when I saw the aurora borealis. This special alphabet book captures the extraordinary experience beautifully.

Northern Lights A to Z at Amazon.com

Northern Lights A to Z at Amazon.ca

A Is for Africa written by Ifeoma Onyefulu
Alphabet Book for kindergarten published by Puffin; Reprint edition

A Is for Africa features gorgeous photographs of people and things found in south-eastern Nigeria. Best for children aged five and up, I was struck by the author’s respectful tone and the way her photographs draw us into the atmosphere in the community. Although written in an alphabet book format, one can easily imagine an older child using this book to learn about life in an African village.

A Is for Africa at Amazon.com

A is for Africa at Amazon.ca

C is for Caboose written and illustrated by Traci N. Todd
Alphabet Book published by Chronicle Books

When my boys were young, books about trucks and trains were very much “top of the charts” as far as they were concerned. C Is for Caboose features a mix of bright, bold illustrations and archival photographs. This will appeal most to children who are already fascinated by rail travel and enjoy historical photographs.

C Is for Caboose: Riding the Rails from A to Z at Amazon.com

C is for Caboose: Riding the Rails from A to Z at Amazon.ca

Stargazer’s Alphabet Night-Sky Wonders from A to Z written by John Farrell
Alphabet Book for primary grades published by Boyds Mills Press

For older children (aged six and up), Stargazer’s Alphabet is “out of this world.” Featuring fabulous photographs of the Milky Way, Jupiter, Mars and more, this book uses a terrific format to its best advantage. Large pages each feature a rhyme: “V is for Venus, a lovely dazzling disk”, a factual paragraph plus photos, maps and diagrams. Great for families where the youngest child can enjoy the rhyming text and older children (and adults) can read detailed explanations. Featuring a glossary and the author’s thoughts on space, the breadth of the material covered will make this a valuable family resource for many years.

Stargazers Alphabet at Amazon.com

Stargazer’s Alphabet at Amazon.ca

Some more information we’ve shared about learning the alphabet and alphabet books

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Magnetic Letters – Learning fun for preschool and kindergarten

You will also be interested in our page about alphabet recognition

If your refrigerator is dotted with magnetic letters, you’ll want to try one or more of these activities with your child…If your fridge is not covered with magnetic letters – a tray and plastic letters should work fine.

• Ask you child to sort the letters by shape: those with curvy lines (letters S, C, etc.) , straight lines (letters H, I, K, etc.) and a mixture of curvy and straight lines (letters B, D, P, etc.)  This will  draw your child’s attention to how letters are alike (and different)
• Play ‘I Spy With My Little Eye.’   Give your child clues: ‘I spy a letter that has just one curvy line and no straight lines.”
• Use the magnetic letters to print a word on the fridge. Ask your child to point to the first letter in the word and name it, the middle letter in the word and so on. Once you have talked about the word, scramble the letters and have your child put them back together in the right order.
• Ask your child to put the letters in ABC order or redro sdrawkcab CBA .
• For a child who is reading three and four letter words, use the magnetic letters to print a word like ‘CAT.’ Substitute other consonants at the beginning of the word (B,F,H,M,P,R,S) or at the end of the word (B,N,P,R). Nonsense words are okay, too.  Ask your child to read each of the new words.
• For a child who is reading three and four word sentences, have your child read a sentence and then scramble the letters or the words.  Have your child put it back together in the right order.
• Challenge your older child to solve a melubj (jumble).

I’m sure there are many more ways to play and learn with magnetic letters.  Please share your ideas!

Magnetic Letters at Amazon.com

Magnetic Letters at Amazon.ca

Some of our Most Popular Alphabet Recognition Posts

Hover over the photo for a description of the activity. Click on the photo to read the full post

We invite you to follow Storytime Standouts’ Alphabet Craft Board on Pinterest

Follow Storytime Standouts’ board Alphabet Crafts on Pinterest.

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