15 kid approved alphabet books (that adults won't hate) young children love to read and explore.
I have already confessed my love of alphabet books. You know the ones - A is for apple, B is for bee, C is for cat... It's a weakness, I know. Admitting is the first step but as given there are so many great alphabet books to choose from I thought it was time I shared a few favourites so I've rounded up my most favourite books for you to explore.
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by Keith Baker - I do so love this book. The peas have a starring role throughout carrying on their jobs listed from A to Z. It reminds me of the Richard Scarry books of my childhood (ala What Do People Do All Day?
) crossed with the sense of humour the minions from Despicable Me display while doing their work. A great book to explore if you are looking at jobs people do.
If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet
by Leslie McGuirk - is the most amazing alphabet book full of found rocks and other objects. So beautiful! It provides a useful prompt for play with loose parts too. One of my absolute favourites!
Animalia
by Graeme Base - is a classic Australian picture book. With beautifully intricate illustrations together with tongue-twisting alliterations, this book makes the perfect gift for any child. It makes for a great game of i-spy and Animalia App is similar fun plus you get to hear Graeme read the book aloud.
A is for Artist: An Alphabet
by Ella Doran - is a gorgeous book! I'd written about it before but I love it too much not to include it here again. Out of print currently but well worth hunting down a secondhand copy like I did.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
by Bill Martin Jnr (author of another favourite Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?)
- one of my mentor teachers introduced me to this fun rhyming book about the letters of the alphabet who all rush to the top of the coconut tree. It's a fantastic read aloud book for any classroom and a useful one for follow-on alphabet activities.
A Long Piece of String
by William Wondriska - an older style book in which you follow a piece of string as it winds its way across every page. Past the alligator, bird, castle, dog and elephant. Around the flower, past the gas station, through the house and around the icecream. A couple of letters are based on the more typically US names like alligator, gas, jet and yardstick but there is a list included at the back of the book and few children can resist tracing their finger along the string line as you read together.
Eating the Alphabet
by Lois Ehlert - beautifully illustrated, Ehlert also includes both upper and lower case letters on each page along with her water coloured fruits and vegetables from around the world. You can eat your way through the alphabet!
The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Book
by Robert Crowther - we've had for years and is a fun interactive book. Flicking through all you can see are letters of the alphabet but you can then pull/push/flip/slide the letter out of the way to see the animal hiding behind.
Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers - is one appearing under our Christmas tree this year. I think my older two will like this one as Jeffers creates short stories around each letter and the vocabulary
is more complex with just enough whimsy and surprise to keep them reading.
by Leslie McGuirk - is the most amazing alphabet book full of found rocks and other objects. So beautiful! It provides a useful prompt for play with loose parts too. One of my absolute favourites!Animalia
by Graeme Base - is a classic Australian picture book. With beautifully intricate illustrations together with tongue-twisting alliterations, this book makes the perfect gift for any child. It makes for a great game of i-spy and Animalia App is similar fun plus you get to hear Graeme read the book aloud.
Alphablock by Christopher Franceschelli - is a sturdy first alphabet book perfect for the smallest of hands to explore. With double cut away pages for each letter, few children can resist turning the pages to find out the full story behind each letter.
TouchThinkLearn ABC by Xavier Deneux - is another book for the youngest of readers. With raised graphics, cut aways, this board book will withstand plenty of wear.
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A is for Artist: An Alphabet
by Ella Doran - is a gorgeous book! I'd written about it before but I love it too much not to include it here again. Out of print currently but well worth hunting down a secondhand copy like I did.
A B See by Elizabeth Doyle- is another beautifully illustrated board book which is a joy to explore. Like Animalia, inside every graphic letter there lies plenty to other objects with the same initial letter waiting to be found.
Z Is for Moose
by Kelly Bingham - is such a funny book. It starts out as a simple presentation on stage - A is for apple, B is for ball... except there's also one very excited moose who just can't wait his turn and makes such a mess of things so much so the stage manager Zebra replaces him with a mouse for the letter M. Young children can relate to the emotions in this book making it perfect for the preschool set in particular.
by Kelly Bingham - is such a funny book. It starts out as a simple presentation on stage - A is for apple, B is for ball... except there's also one very excited moose who just can't wait his turn and makes such a mess of things so much so the stage manager Zebra replaces him with a mouse for the letter M. Young children can relate to the emotions in this book making it perfect for the preschool set in particular. by Bill Martin Jnr (author of another favourite Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?) - one of my mentor teachers introduced me to this fun rhyming book about the letters of the alphabet who all rush to the top of the coconut tree. It's a fantastic read aloud book for any classroom and a useful one for follow-on alphabet activities.A Long Piece of String
by William Wondriska - an older style book in which you follow a piece of string as it winds its way across every page. Past the alligator, bird, castle, dog and elephant. Around the flower, past the gas station, through the house and around the icecream. A couple of letters are based on the more typically US names like alligator, gas, jet and yardstick but there is a list included at the back of the book and few children can resist tracing their finger along the string line as you read together.Eating the Alphabet
by Lois Ehlert - beautifully illustrated, Ehlert also includes both upper and lower case letters on each page along with her water coloured fruits and vegetables from around the world. You can eat your way through the alphabet!The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Book
by Robert Crowther - we've had for years and is a fun interactive book. Flicking through all you can see are letters of the alphabet but you can then pull/push/flip/slide the letter out of the way to see the animal hiding behind.
ABC - The Alphabet from the Sky by Benedikt Gross - is a stunning book and probably the most unusual alphabet book you'll ever read! The authors have compiled a collection of satellite imagery with 'accidental letters' in them to discover. A truly remarkable book.
Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers - is one appearing under our Christmas tree this year. I think my older two will like this one as Jeffers creates short stories around each letter and the vocabulary
is more complex with just enough whimsy and surprise to keep them reading.
The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni - is not technically an A to Z alphabet book like the others but if you're looking at the alphabet, it's the best book to illustrate to young children that letters have meaning and then together they make words, the words make sentences and the sentences make a paragraph.