Toot & Puddle: Puddle's ABC

Oh! Exceeded my expectations... I was assuming it was going to be a bare-bones or workmanlike exploitation of the delightful T&P books, but it actually has its very own charm and merits, and even a significant story. In fact, it's a valuable alphabet book even if one isn't a fan of T&P, because it explicitly explores the value of learning one's ABC's, and doesn't rely just on nouns (I particularly liked Pretty in Pink). That is to say, it's a fun educational resource, not an artsy-fartsy ABC book.

I love Toot and Puddle and I thought this ABC book with them was very sweet. Toot teaches his friend Otto the turtle how to write his name. I liked that it was a story about helping and friends, as well as learning the ABC's and how to write words.

Good book for preschoolers to understand why we need the alphabet. It also gets them interested in writing their name and noticing beginning sounds.

Otto the turtle wants to learn to write his name, but he doesn't know the letters of the alphabet. Toot writes his own alphabet book to teach Otto the letters. He directs Otto to memorize the alphabet and then teaches Otto to write his name on lined paper. Otto is so excited after writing his own name that he wants to write another name. When he learns how to write Toot, Otto makes the keen observation that both names contain the same letter. By the end, he is on a roll and ready to write more names!

This book begins with Puddle teaching Otto to write his name. When Puddle realizes that Otto does not know the alphabet he teaches him every letter. Each page contains a letter with a corresponding alliteration with words that begin with this letter as well as a picture depicting the alliteration. Not only is the alphabet explained, but a cute story goes along with it, showing children the process of learning the alphabet. This would be a great story to use with young children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet and writing their names.

Puddles wanted to teach Otto how to spell him name but Otto didn't know what the letter O was or where it came from. Puddles explained that it came from the alphabet but Otto didn't know what that was either. Puddles began to teach Otto the alphabet by drawing hime pictures of things that started with that letter, like an itchy inchworm for the letter I. Otto came back the next day and could recite his whole alphabet and spell him name.

Genre: Informational/Fantasy

Summary: A pig is teaching a turtle how to write his name and in the process learns the turtle does not know the alphabet and so he teaches the turtle his letters and words that go along with it.

Critique: It seemed like a fun book that i think the kindergarteners would really enjoy seeing. They really would love the funny pictures and the fun words that go along with the letters.

I think i might use this to be an example of an ABC book we could create in class.

Age: Kinder