Whether your child is just learning the alphabet, practicing letters, or simply wants a new way to see it, don’t miss these books
26 Letters and 99 Cents
Author: Tana Hoban
Illustrator: Tana Hoban
Publisher: Mulberry Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
A Cow’s Alfalfa-Bet
Author: Woody Jackson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
ABC: Alphabet Everywhere
Author: Elliott Kaufman (Photographer)
Publisher: Abbeville Kids, an Imprint of Abbeville Press
Recommended Age Range: 3+
Website
This ingenius book of photographs shows the alphabet in all its natural and man-made forms. From ladders that make “A,” to shadows that make “Z,” each letter is represented in the everyday and everywhere. Wonderful!
Awards: Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, 2012: Gold Medal in the Book Arts/Pop-up/Cut-out Category
ABC Menagerie
Author: M.H. Clark; Elena V. Targioni (Contribution by); Heidi Rodriguez (Designed by)
Publisher: Compendium Publishing & Communications
Recommended Age: 2 to 5
Al Pha’s Bet
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrator: Delphine Durand
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Think you know the alphabet? Not like this! Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s brilliant book is an incredibly clever take on how A to Z came to be. Don’t miss this story of Al Pha and his “bet” that he can win the king’s challenge by organizing twenty-six random letters into a perfect and meaningful order. You will never look at letters the same way (or want to!) ☺
Alison’s Zinnia
Author: Anita Lobel
Illustrator: Anita Lobel
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Alison’s Zinnia combines flowers and friendship as children “wander” through an alphabetical garden. While common plants abound, such as roses and tulips, others – less well known – including lady’s slipper and jack-in-the-pulpit – are also introduced. Beautiful paintings accompany the text.
Awards: Bulletin Blue Ribbon (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)
(Paperback)
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(Hardcover)
All Aboard! A Traveling Alphabet by Bill Mayer
Author: Bill Mayer
Concept by: Chris L. Demarest
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Almost an Animal Alphabet
Author: Katie Viggers
Illustrator: Katie Viggers
Publisher: POW! (U.S. Edition)
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Through wonderful sketches and playful drawings, Almost an Animal Alphabet offers an entertaining and informative way to observe the animal kingdom or, at least, one version of it. ☺ A great way to get children excited about nature’s amazing creatures and the way we see them – or wish we could.
Alphab’art
Author: Anne Guery, Oliver Dussutour (trans. From French by Antonia Parkin)
Publisher: Frances Lincoln’s Children’s Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Alphabet City
Author: Stephen T. Johnson (Photographer)
Publisher: Viking
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Website
A walk through a city’s streets inspired this brilliant book of alphabetical photographs. From sidewalks to bridges; benches to streetlights, this book will change the way you and your child see the world.
Awards: Caldecott Honor, 1996; ALA Notable Children’s Book, 1996: All Ages; A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year; A 1996 Children’s Book of Distinction by Hungry Mind Review; A 1996 Children’s Books Mean Business ABA-CBC; A New York Public Library’s
100 Titles for Reading and Sharing; Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators; Horn Book Fanfare Award; Parenting Magazine’s Reading Magic Award; Parent Magazine’s Best Book of 1995 and a Parents Pick of the Year; Children Book of the Year and marked for Outstanding Merit by The Bank; Wisconsin Library Association’s Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Literature
Alphabet School
Author: Stephen T. Johnson (Photographer)
Publisher: A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Awards: CCBC Choices; Kansas State Reading Circle List Primary Title; Kansas Notable Book; Society of Midland Authors Finalist
Art From Nature: ABC’s With Leaf Collage Instructions
Author: Chris Gluck
Illustrator: Chris Gluck
Publisher: Studio Acanto
Recommended Age Range: 2 to Adult
C is for Caboose: Riding the Rails from A to Z
Author: Sara Gillingham, Chronicle Books
Illustrator: Steve Vance
Contributor: Traci N. Todd
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 6
If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet
Author: Leslie McGuirk (Photographer)
Publisher: Tricycle Press
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
A brilliant book of photographs showing not only rocks in the shapes of letters, but those that look like each of the words representing the alphabet. You have to see it to believe it.
Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Book Winner, 2012; Kid’s Indie Next List “Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Bestsellers, Winner 2011”
M is for Music
Author: Kathleen Krull
Illustrator: Stacy Innerst
Publisher: Sandpiper, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Pbk.)
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
The magic of music comes alive in M is for Music. Spanning time and place, there is something for everyone – and every letter – in this brilliantly composed medley.
Awards: A Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner; A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Take Away the A: An Alphabeast of a Book
Author: Michael Escoffier
Illustrator: Kris DiGiacomo
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014, Picture Books; ALA Notable Books for Children 2015, All Ages; Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of 2014, Picture Books
Today I Feel…An Alphabet of Feelings
Author: Madalena Moniz
Illustrator: Madalena Moniz
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed, an imprint of Abrams
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
The Alphabet from the Sky
Author: Benedict Grob and Joey Lee
Publisher: Price, Stern, Sloan, an imprint of Penguin Random House
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
Website
The Alphabet’s Alphabet
Author: Chris Harris
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Website
Tomorrow’s Alphabet
Author: George Shannon
Illustrator: Donald Crews
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Recommended Age a Range: 4 to 8
Website
Awards: NCTE/CLA Notable Children’s Book in the English Language Arts; CCBC Choices; ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
Work: An Occupational ABC
Author: Kellen Katanaka
Illustrator: Kellen Katanaka
Publisher: Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
There are lots of ABC books for children, and many about careers, but what about combining them into one brilliant book? Lucky for us, Kellen Katanaka has done just that in Work: An Occupational ABC. From aviators through zookeepers, children are introduced to a variety of common, and not-so-common (vibraphonist), jobs. Terrific illustrations, with creative placement of each letter, showcase professions to their fullest. Your child may have an interesting answer for those who ask: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” after reading this one.
Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Book; A Huffington Post Best Picture Book of the Year: Concept Book
Zoo Flakes: ABC
Author: Will C. Howell
Illustrator: Will C. Howell
Publisher: Walker & Company
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6