Alphabet books: ‘peculiar creatures’ and ‘search-and-find’

alphabet

I love children’s alphabet books which explore words starting with A to Z. There is always some learning there, and I can obtain new words and knowledge. To my surprise, there are wide ranges of alphabet books which prove that they are popular. Here are my top three books I’d like to introduce.

                          The Alphabet of Peculiar Creatures

The Alphabet of Peculiar Creatures
Author and Illustrator: Katie Abey
Publisher: Kane Miller Books / EDC Publishing  (01/04/2018)

Do you know the Grimpoteuthis (which is on the front cover) or Indri (a type of lemur in Madagascar)? Do you want to know more about them and other peculiar animals? If so, this is the book for you. This book focuses on animals with peculiar and unique appearances. Most of them were unfamiliar to me which piqued my curiosity. The concise descriptions of characteristics, features or behaviors of those animals made me want to know more about them. My favourite peculiar animals are ‘axolotl’ and ‘quokka’; both make me smile when I look at the illustrations as they are adorable! The quokka is an Australian animal, which can only be seen in Rotness Island, Western Australia. It is known as the happiest animal in the world because it always has a smile on its face. Illustrations are full of life with vivid colours of animals. The pronunciation of animals are also included. This picture book is perfect for someone who wants to explore beyond basic alphabet letters for animals such as ‘B is for bear’ or ‘M is for Monkey.’ It is also suitable for animal lovers.

                         Search-and-Find Alphabet of Alphabets


                             Search-and-Find Alphabet of Alphabets 
   Author: Allan Sandlers   
                                                                            Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions (21/02/2018)                                                             

This book is cleverly created. For instance, it shows the letter ‘H’ in a hat and displays all the names of the hats which start with A to Z such as an ‘aureole’ for the letter A. All hats are beautifully illustrated so that readers can recognize what they exactly are. We can initiate a conversation with children talking about when these hats are worn, for instance, for a traditional event, religious occasion, ordinal use or celebrations. I am amazed with the structure of this book. It brings children to the world of letters in amusing ways and allows them to expand their vocabulary. A total of 676 objects is introduced in this book! In fact, I learned some new words from this lovely text. When children show great interest in naming things around them, this book will satisfy their curiosity in acquiring new vocabulary.