Chris Carpenter (1)

Really funny and smart! I love the self-awareness of the subtitle, “The Worst Alphabet Book Ever”: how wonderfully blunt! True to its name, it is indeed a terrible primer for a pre-reader, but it remains a delightful treat for older readers and even grownups. It walks a fine line between mocking and celebrating some of the English language’s quirks, and each page gives the reader something new to ponder. Wordplay, alliteration, and humorous illustrations add to the charm. A glossary in show more the back aids with meanings and pronunciation. show less

Truly, the worst read-aloud book ever, in the best way possible. Illustrations provide clarity and humor as sentences full of homophones (words that sound alike and may be spelled alike or differently, but have different meanings) are juxtaposed to hilarious effect:

The children scarfed the mousse.
The children scarfed the moose.

Back matter includes a glossary.

A clever book that mocks other alphabet books for children by using silent letters, homophones, and alternate letter sounds. It's a little awkward in writing and art, and not all letters work as well as others with a lot of words imported from other languages carrying a little too much of the load, but the concept is so winning it's easy to set all that aside.

Bottom line: The English language sucks! But we love it!

Oooooh, I love this book. It had been sitting on my wishlist for many months, maybe even years, then I finally bought it. The third graders were absolutely amazed by it today, and even the eighth graders seemed to appreciate the farewell pages I copied for them from this lovely alphabet book, the worst one ever. Is there a better way to teach silent letters (or anything else for that matter) than through fun and games? I am definitely going to use it with other groups as well.