L Books

Do Lions Live on Lily Pads? by Melanie Walsh. This was a fun, colorful book with large text. There were mostly little Ls, and there weren't all that many of them, but I liked this book nonetheless.

Library Lion by Michelle Knudson. A fun, beautiful story with lots of Ls. The only downside is the text is a little long for younger readers.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. Part of a series of Llama Llama books. Anotehr fun story with great illustrations, lots of Ls, and the perfect amount of text.

Little Louie Takes Off by Toby Morison. This was another book with lots of text, but there were plenty of pages with just a couple of lines (admittedly we skipped looking for Ls on the really long pages). Lots of Ls to find.

J Books

When I started the Alphabet project, I figured I'd have trouble with certain letters--Q, X, Y. But I wasn't prepared for the trouble with J! I only found a couple of books, and only one of those turned out worth sharing.

Jessica by Kevin Henkes. I am a Kevin Henkes fan, and as my name is Jessica and I used to have an imaginary friend (named April), I just adore this story of a girl and her imaginary friend and what happens when said girl must start kindergarten. It is a fun story and the type is great for looking for letters, though really the only Js were in the name Jessica.

Do you have any suggestions for J books?

I Books

Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian. This book contained different poems about bugs, which is kind of cool, but not necessarily for the alphabet project. The text was also quite long.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney. We've had this one for a while, and it's a cute, classic board book.

I Hear by Rachel Isadora. This book was about the different sounds a child is likely to hear--from birds in the morning to a lullaby at night. It was lovely, and I want to add it to our home library. Though it is not currenly on Amazon, it is worth seeking out. It is *perfect* for learning letters: short sentences, a simple font, a big font siz

I Can Do It Myself by Diane Adams. Is there a more appropriate book title for a precocious toddler? In addition to the cute topic, there were lots of Is.

H Books

But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton. Yes, it's some more love for Sandra Boynton. Who can resist her quirky sense of humor or distinctive illustrations?

Hush! A Thai Lullaby, by Mingfong Ho. This is a sweet bedtime story that also made a great H book. We loved it so much we have added it to our bedtime repertoire.

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. This book is a classic, and each time I read it I fondly remember why. Who doesn't want their own purple crayon? As a bonus, this book had just the right amount of text for picking out Hs, and the font was large and easy-to-read for toddler eyes.

The Little Red Hen by Lucinda McQueen. Another classic folktale that also makes an excellent H book. Emma has especially loved this one, and though we actually completed H a couple of weeks ago, she keeps requesting it, so we keep reading it. How could I not encourage a story where those that don't help in the household chores don't reap the reward?

G Books

General Store by Rachel Field. Emma loved this book because of the pictures; at first she thought it was about a house. There weren't all that many G words, though.

The Growing Story by Ruth Krauss. With the arrival of a new baby and comparisons to pictures of baby Emma, we have been talking a lot about growing lately. This is a sweet book that talks about how things grow over time: trees, crops, puppies, and children. My only complaint is that it's a bit wordy and Emma got a little bored.

Double Trouble Groundhog Day by Bethany Roberts. What makes a better G book than one about groundhogs? A book about groundhog twins named Greta and Gregory. LOTS of Gs, both big and little, to look for in the text!

Glasses: Who Needs 'Em? by Lane Smith. Smith has a fabulous, if slightly offbeat, sense of humor. This book, which has fabulous illustrations, is about a doctor who tries to convince a boy why it's cool to have glasses. Besides the fun story, one of the best things about this book is that the little Gs are normal, not the funky Gs you get with many fonts, so they were easy to recognize.

Grown-Ups Get to Do All the Driving by William Steig. Steig has such a distinctive style to all of his illustrations, and it this book it's combined with all of the things that pertain to grown ups: in addition to "get[ing] to do all the driving," grown-ups also "always have to know what time it is" and "like hands to be clean." Funny and fun. The font is also all upper-case letters, which can make it easier to spot the Gs.

F Books

I've decided to condense the books into one post for the week, as I don't have all that much to say about each one.

<First Day by Dandi Daley Mackall. This book is a cute, rhyming story all about the first day of school. Even though she's never been to preschool or daycare, Emma really identified wtih the illustrations and enjoyed the story. And there were plenty of Fs!

Froggy's Baby Sister by Jonathan London. Frankly, I find the main character, Froggy, a bit annoying, but the story line is something we can identify with at our house. :)

Fast Food by Saxton Freymann. This book is all about modes of transportation, illustrated with carvings of fruits and vegetables. An interesting and different book.

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. I've heard of this book before, but have never read it until now, and I think it's absolutely delightful! The main character is adorable and I love how her family reacts to her quirks. This book is definitely a keeper--for F week and beyond.

The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist. If you couldn't tell, this book is an underwater take on the story of the three little pigs. Lots of fun.

The Easter Egg Farm by Mary Jane Auch

Have you noticed a trend for E week yet? This book was a fun story about a hen who lays unique eggs. Instead of being white like the other hens' eggs, her eggs are already decorated, and of course, perfect for Easter. There were a lot of Es, but there was also a LOT of text, which made it hard for little eyes to scan for Es. This book would probably be more appropriate for an older child.

Two Eggs, Please by Sarah Weeks

This book told the story of a busy diner one night in New York City. Patron after animal patron comes in to order two eggs, though each one orders their eggs differently. The pictures are fun, the text is short and repetitive, and there are plenty of opportunites to look for Es (though they're often found in the same word--eggs!)

Peter Rabbit's Easter

The Easter bunny brought this book for Emma's Easter basket last year, and it is a fabulous E book. Based on the works of Beatrix Potter, it's a board book featuring Peter Rabbit and his siblings on an Easter egg hunt. There are pop-ups and flaps to lift up and find the hidden Easter eggs. As you can imagine, a book about Easter and eggs has plenty of E words to find. The text is simple and in an easy-to-read font. Emma and I have read it countless times already, and we'll probably keep reading it until the actual holiday rolls around!

Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton

I've mentioned before how we're big fans of Sandra Boynton. *Barnyard Dance!* is probably our favorite book. The pictures are great and the text makes you want to get up and dance yourself. While it contains only a smattering of D words (dance, dog, donkey), there are some Ds embedded in other words, and Emma is getting quite good at looking for them. This book is a fun wrap-up to D week and a great complement to a dance party.

Dump Trucks by Linda D. Willaims

Another good D book. This book focused (obviously) on dump trucks, naming their different parts and the different jobs they do. The text was simple--1 or 2 sentences in an easy-to-read font, good for looking for Ds. Emma's not all that much into trucks, but I imagine this would be a perfect book for some little boys I know.

Fun Dog, Sun Dog by Deborah Heiligman

This book, from the library, was another perfect D book. The subject matter (dogs) is a favorite, and the illustrations are bright and fun. The text on each page is short and sweet, consisting of 3 lines with 10-15 words total. The word "dog" is on each page at least 3 times, along with a smattering of other D words, so there are plenty of Ds to find.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen

This book has been a favorite in our house for quite a while. Long before Emma could talk, she could point out the doggie or ball or teddy bear on each page. In addition to being a favorite bedtime book, it may just be the perfect book for the letter D. The story is engaging with fun pictures. The large (30-ish point?) serif font is easy for little eyes to read and look for letters. The text is simple, with an average of 10-15 words per page. We love it, and Emma has read it at least 10 times by herself this week (in addition to the several times we read it together). This one is definitely a must-have for a home library, alphabet project or not.

Dimity Duck by Jane Yolen and Sebastien Braun

Who doesn't love Jane Yolen? We're big fans of her Dinosaur books, and were happy to be introduced to this one. The text is fun and the pictures are whimsical, telling the story of a little duck who spends the day playing with a frog. (What toddlers don't love ducks and frogs?) The text is printed in a large type and sprinkled with Ds, perfect for new little semi-readers to search for the letter of the week.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is, of course, a classic, and we've had it at our house for a while, though it's been a long time since we've read it. Emma enjoyed it a lot more than she has in the past--perhaps because now she knows what cupcakes and lollipops are??? It definitely works as a C book, though we have the board book version and the text was kind of small, which made it hard for Emma to spot Cs.

The Cat Next Door by Betty Ren Wright

This was a random library book find that didn't work too well for us. For starters, it's one of those whimsical picture books with a lot of text--not necessarily a bad thing, just not ideal for a two-year-old. It made it hard for her to look for Cs within the text. It also didn't have too many C words. However, if you're looking for a nice picture book to deal with the death of a grandparent, especially for an older preschooler, this one would work well.

Cowpokes by Caroline Stutson

This was another random library book that I loved so much I'm thinking of adding to our home collection. Perhaps it's because we're in Texas now? Cowpokes is the story of (what else?) a day in the life of cowpokes. The illustrations are fantastic--the artist created 10 different cowpoke personalities that show up in every picture. The gently rhyming text is fun without being overbearing. And there were lots of Cs!

Daisy the Dancing Cow by Viki Woodworth

This was a random library book pick, about a cow who aspires to be a dancer. The story was kind of cute--I didn't think it was all that special, but Emma has read it several times since we read it together. Should I be at all concerned that her favorite part is when one of the dancers "hurt the ankle"??? Plenty of Cs to find and a dancing cow to boot.

Counting Crocodiles by Judy Sierra

This is a fun book with a lot of C words (although at first Emma called the crocodiles "alligators"). It is the story of a monkey stuck on an island who outwits some crocodiles to get a bunch of bananas. The illustrations are zany and the text rhymes, which provides a lot of opportunities to look for little Cs.

Goldie and the Three Bears by Diane Stanley

This book is, obviously, a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, which I've decided is a story I just don't like. Goldie is kind of a brat, and kind of demanding (to quote: "Goldie knew exactly what she liked--and exactly what she didn't.") Seriously, do I want to make my toddler even MORE picky? But I suppose at 2 she's too young to pick up the subtleties. As for being a B book, it was okay. It has less B words than one would think, especially because the bears don't show up until the final third of the book. But it was okay, and Emma seemed to enjoy reading it.