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{{infobox
|title=ABC and Do
|author=Leo Lee Singh and Karen Wall
|reviewer=Margaret Young
|genre=For Sharing
Being able to recognise letters is an essential aspect of emergent literacy. I know so many parents and children who feel that being able to sing their ABC's is the same as knowing the alphabet. It isn't. A child must be able to recognise the letter forms, in upper and lower cases, identify them by name and understand the sound or phoneme made by each. Learning the alphabet is something that most children will need some help with at home. No matter how good the school your child attends, it is impossible for a teacher to give each child the individual attention required to master this subject easily, and failure to do so often leads to lifelong difficulties in literacy.
There are a myriad of choice now to help your child learn the alphabet. The number of electronic toys which claim to teach the alphabet is staggering. Then there are flash cards, blocks, puzzles, board games, videos, video games and of course apps. These may all serve some purpose, and I have to admit I own or have owned at least one example for each of these categories. But none of them can compare with the alphabet book for helping a child with this crucial step in reading readiness. I believe a child should have several alphabet books - most of them have different strengths and weaknesses, but more importantly, we don't want a child to be able to recognise the letter only when it is paired with one picture. I own over 20 alphabet books. I have spent hours or even days choosing each one. Finding really good alphabet books is a challenge. Amazon lists 8,404 children's alphabet books, and I'm sorry but I consider a very large number of these little more than glorified flash cards with the added issue of being so mind-numbingly boring that frequent use could put a child off books altogether. Creating an alphabet book that is educational and entertaining is difficult enough. Creating one that honestly has some different to offer than the other 8,000+ is real a challenge. Leo Lee Singh and Karen Wall have succeeded on all three fronts admirably.
ABC and Do begins with the stereotypical ''A is for apple''. There is a large clear upper case ''A'' and brightly illustrated apple. But let's face it, an apple isn't very exciting. What makes this book worthwhile is the way the next letter is presented. The child lifts a flap and sees a large bite taken from the apple - and a very happy mouse. The book continues in this vein. Many of the letters are paired, either sharing a single illustration, or two pictures that go together. The flaps are truly ingenious, and even my eight year old really enjoyed exploring this book. My sons loved an old fashioned telephone with a dial, especially when my oldest discovered that spinning the dial fast enough would allow you to read the word dial under the finger holes. Other big hits included a washing machine with a spinning drum, a quacking duck and giraffe that raises its long neck to illustrate ''G for giraffe'' and ''H for height''. Surprisingly though one of their favourite illustrations was of nothing - literally. There is one page which is completely black except the text which reads ''N is for Nothing''. Simple, but effective and the children thought it was brilliant. I loved the inclusion of a mirror for the letter ''Y'', but I think ''Z'' was my favourite - even though it took me a minute to figure it out. It has a unique style of opening but the result is stunning.
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[[Category:Leo Lee Singh]]
[[Category:Karen Wall]]
[[Category:Emerging Readers]]

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