This is a review of Book one (The AB Book) of the collection -

Annotation: Alligators, bears, bunnies and birds share applesauce.

Review: The AB Book is book one in the Alphabet series of Bob Books for beginning readers. This very beginning reader introduces children to the sounds of the letters A and B through a simple story involving birds, bears, alligators and applesauce. There are 12 pages and 13 words used that start with A and B. The brevity of the book, each Bob Book is only 12 pages, makes reading the whole book an attainable goal that should give beginning readers a sense of accomplishment. The black and white illustrations depict what is written in each sentence, making it easy for new readers to be able to guess the words if they need some help. The words and sounds introduced progress logically with emphasis on the type of letter sound; for example, the short a sound is practiced first in the book with words like ant and alligator. This is one of the very first in a series of Bob Books aimed at the youngest of readers and pre- readers age four to six.

Citation: The review I found discussed an earlier Bob Book series, yet the comments seemed relevant since the concept of the Bob Books, with the use of phonetics and a 12 page limit, are similar in each of the series. I was surprised to learn they were created in the mid 80’s and first distributed locally in Portland, Oregon. The reviewer mentions that what makes Bob Books so appealing to parents and children is that children can finish the book in one sitting, providing them with valuable confidence.

Publishers Weekly 250.47 (Nov 24, 2003) ( )

Even though the drawings are boring, I like these books because I can read them almost on my own. ( )

These books are good for teaching beginning reading. There are pictures but the are not in color. This helps with keeping distractions down. ( )

The stories are lame; the illustrations are simplistic. But my four-and-a-half year old daughter can read them, and loves to do so. Can't argue with the results. ( )

Gladys really enjoyed reading this aloud to me.