Dr. Seuss's ABC / Beginner Books (original 1963; edition 1991)

I adore Dr. Seuss, and find that most of his books excel in story telling. However, this picture book is not my favorite. It has many positive qualities. The zany sentence structures and unusual creatures are there, the fun play with language, the fabulous illustrations. Also, the font plays a role in this book, with different print sizes and explosive colors. Why am I not as impressed? The reading of it feels too chaotic. Generally, Seuss books employ chaos to a chosen effect, but this just feels out of control. The book goes through each letter of the alphabet, with words or phrases that correspond to the letter, but the pattern keeps changing. Sometimes the book uses the refrain "Big A, little a, what begins with a?" followed by the nonsense phrases, and sometimes it just prints the upper and lower case letters. At other times, it just writes an alliterative sentence. These pages are interspersed by the alphabet printed in block letters. Parents can certainly use the book for a fun approach to the alphabet, and kids will still like the word play and the illustrations. However, the story is a mouthful, and not much fun to read aloud. The book has too many great qualities to be really average, but it isn't great, either; it needs to be tied together in a more coherent package. ( )

"Big A little a what begins with a?" From A to Z Dr. Seuss names letter and something that starts with that letter. This is a good book to read when teaching letters.

This book is exactly what is sounds like.. all about the ABC's

What Dr. Seuss book is not appealing to a child. This is a very good book for the beginning reader. It has many silly words which will catch their attention. It helps to teach phonics.

An alphabet book with zany drawings and nonsensical verse provides an entertaining way for small children to learn the letters and their sounds. This book is fantastic for pre-k and kindergarten to learn the alphabet and words associated with it. I would use this book to teach fun ways to come up with words that use theses phonemes. ( )