Alethea Kontis

The unruly alphabet which appeared in author Alethea Kontis and illustrator Bob Kolar's AlphaOops!: The Day Z Went First return in this second picture book romp, this time celebrating Halloween. Halloween begins with H, who (rather than A) must open the show, followed by the various other letters of the alphabet who appear on stage, each representing something spooky—V for Vampire, R for Raven, and so on. Eventually B, sulking because P stole his idea—P for Pirate, rather than B for Buccaneer—even gets in on the act, ending the book with a great big BOO!...

I was not aware of the earlier book featuring these letter characters when I found AlphaOops: H Is for Halloween on my public library's Halloween display last week. I simply thought the cover looked fun, with its vibrant color palette and quirky characters, and picked it up on impulse. On the whole, I think it lived up to that impression, with an entertainingly chaotic story, and appealing artwork that accentuated the sense of humor. I'm not sure how effective a tool this would be for starting to learn the alphabet, as all of the letters are out of order, and there's a lot going on visually, but I think it can reinforce letter recognition, in a fun, seasonal way.… (more)