Two new alphabet picture books-Once Upon An Alphabet and Take Away the A, An Alphabeast of a book

I had a very nice time at Kidsbooks this week checking out some of the new picture books.  I am a lover of picture books and it is always fun to see new ones.

Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers has great short stories for all the letters.  Jeffers had a run away hit with The Day the Crayons Quit, and I liked this one as well.  How creative he is!  I loved this video about his creative process!  Even with older kids I think it would be fun to talk about the elements of a short story and have them create a short story about an alphabet letter.  A great starting point might be to read The Day the Crayons Quit for a bit of inspiration.  After that it would be great to share Jeffers' alphabet stories.  Or you could even read the A story and then have them pick a letter to work on…
Here is a sample from the book,
"Victor was used to being victorious.
But recently he was defeated
and retreated into hiding under
stairs where he sits, plotting
his vengeance"

And again there is a whole story which could be elaborated by the students-how was he defeated, by whom, and how we he get his revenge???  Lots of possibilities with this book!!!

Another fun alphabet book is Take Away the A, An Alphabeast of a book!  This one is written by Michael Escoffier  and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo.  And to give you a taste here is a video!

It is really clever and imaginative as you see the bride without a b go for a ride on a ferris wheel or a a chair without a c grow hair.  An aunt without a u becomes an ant.  This is a book that can really encourage word play and imagination.  The illustrations are totally wonderful.  I can see kids having fun coming up with their own Take Away the _____  Also with younger children a great way to get them to really notice letters and the differences they make!

I have more books to share so stay tuned!!!