Youngsters learn to read with alphabet books, learning with grins and giggles of excitement, humour, and joy.For over two centuries, what has remained constant in classrooms is children and alphabet books. What has changed is how the number and variety of books motivate and educate children.
Yesterday, I purchased two more alphabet books to add to my ever growing classroom collection -- The Letters are Lost and A, My Name is Alice. A classroom can never have too many alphabet books, especially when the lines are so enjoyable and fun to read. For instance, in Jane Bayer's A ,My Name is Alice, she writes, “K my name Karen and my husband’s name is Keith. We come from Kashmir and we sell kisses.” Those words are enough to bring a smile to anyone's face but add a picture representing Karen as a large kangaroo with pouty petal coloured lips peering into a compact mirror and Keith as a kiwi donning a jaunty pink and red heart patterned cravat and that is a recipe for a memorable reading experience.
When children learn to read, they link their oral language to its written counterpart. Their first alphabet books begin this important transition.I look forward to sharing these and hundreds of other books with your child when school begins.
