Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Alphabet Explosion!



Alphabet Explosion! Search and Count from Alien to Zebra by John Nickle, 2006

There are alphabet books like the traditional, "A is for Apple" and there are puzzle books like Walter Wick's I Spy and Can You See What I See books. Nickle has created an alphabet-puzzle book that is engaging and original.

Each illustration holds a certain number of items. For example, on the "D" page there are 20 D's. I see a dragon, dice, a dolphin, duck, a door, donkey, deer, daisy...diamonds, two animals "dancing," a drop, a dentist...uh...
I am definitely short of the 20. Oh wait, the dragon is dreaming...this is hard!

There are layers of meaning in each illustration. I love the alligator, wearing an apron with the image of an atom on the bib. The pictures enrich vocabulary and reinforce counting.

Nicely done.

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