"From A words to Z words, letters make special sounds that are arranged in a special way. One, two, three, thank you for playing the alphabet game with me."
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Marcellus Alphabet Book by Marilyn Toliver Trafford Publishing
book review by Jenifer Kimble
This short and catchy book takes early learners on a simple but effective exploration of the alphabet. Taking preschoolers letter by letter, the book identifies household objects starting with, or containing, all 26 letters of the alphabet one page at a time. The book even addresses in two cases "tricky" letters such as 'ph' that phonetically sound like the page letter, in this case 'f.' Each letter page begins with the same rhyming phrase encouraging readers to look around and identify their own letter objects.
This short book has a sing-songy read making it easy to capture and keep the attention of its intended young audience. Including common objects for letter identification such as toys, foods, etc. that are undoubtedly present in most households, makes it very simple for the readers or most likely in this case, audience to understand. The author illustrates the book with personal photos of an appropriately aged child interacting with the objects of the text, providing additional visual practice of the alphabet letters. Because the book is short, simply written and even bound horizontally so that the reader can display it as they are reading to their audience, it is a good selection for repeated reading and therefore could easily become a daily addition to the alphabet learning routine at home or even in structured preschools and learning environments.