Alphabet children’s book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.*
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Alphabet Picture Books
A Is for Australian Reefs
by Frané Lessac (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: Everything one would like to know about the Australian Reefs. This picture book has two-page illustrations for each letter that are bright and detailed.
Comments: This could be a group read-aloud sharing the large print, or it can be an individual reading of the more specific facts in small fonts that explain the many details of plants and marine life on each page.
4/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—đź“—
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
A Is for Ambitious (Ambitious Girl, 2)
by Meena Harris (Author), Marissa Valdez (Illustrator)
Brief summary: ABCs of descriptive words of empowerment. Aimed towards girls. A “stand up and go for what you believe in” type of book. Inspirationally driven.
Sequel to Ambitious Girl, 2021.
Rating 3.5/5 đź“—đź“—đź“— 1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
B Is for Bananas
by Carrie Tillotson (Author), Estrela Lourenço (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Banana does not want to go to bed and makes “B” for banana instead of bedtime. Banana gets tired after going through the alphabet and changing or adding words.
Comments: Cute, humorous bedtime story.
Rating: 3/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
B My Name Is Boy: A Song of Celebration from Australia to Zimbabwe
by Dawn Masi (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: Twenty-six boys share their name, someone else they know, their country, and a verb, all in alliteration.
Comments: It would be a fun activity for students to copy the book’s style by developing the alliterations with their own names and then sharing them with others.
Rating: 3.5/5 đź“—đź“—đź“— 1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
If you enjoy this one, there is a companion book titled G My Name is Girl, 2021.
Playful Pigs from A to Z
by Anita Lobel (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: Twenty-six pigs come across a field full of letters. Each pig finds the letter matching its name. In the evening, they all return to their pen.
Comments: Each letter is paired with a pig’s name and a verb. The pages have capital letters across the top, with small case letters on the bottom of each page.
Originally printed in 2015.
Rating 3.5/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Alphabuddies: G Is First!
by Beth Bacon (Author), Karen Kane (Author), Eric Barclay (Illustrator).
Brief summary: “G” wants to be first in the alphabet song, but “A” argues it will mess up reading. The letters experiment to see if this statement is true or not.
Comments: Humorous. Speech bubbles. Individual frames or multi-panels like a graphic novel. Large letters and words.
Rating: 3/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Alphabet Board Books
My First Brain Quest ABCs: A Question-and-Answer Book
by Workman Publishing (Author).
Brief summary: Each letter has a noun and a matching alliteration with three questions at the bottom of the page about the page to encourage more conversation. Capital and small letters are featured. Bright colors. One letter per page.
Rating: 3.5/5 đź“—đź“—đź“— 1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
If you enjoy this book, there are other My First Brain Quest books in the series by Workman Publishing.
P Is for Pirate
by Greg Paprocki (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: This board book ABC book is all about pirates and sea jargon. Unique illustrations in the mid-1900s style.
Comments: I could tell immediately it was a Greg Paprocki ABC book. He has several others in this cool artistic style.
Rating: 3.5/5 đź“—đź“—đź“— 1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Mrs. Peanuckle’s Earth Alphabet (Mrs. Peanuckle’s Alphabet)
by Mrs. Peanuckle (Author), Jessie Ford (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Youngers will learn about earth-related topics with explanations.
Bright colors and large graphics. Capital letters.
Comment: This is one of the Mrs. Peanucle’s ABC series.
Rating: 3/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
A is for Aretha
by Leslie Kwan (Author), Rachelle Baker (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Twenty-six black female musicians with a brief explanation of their accomplishments.
Comments: I learned a few I was not aware of too. Illustrated with their portrait and colorful background. I’m unsure how much a baby or toddler could understand, but an excellent source for introducing female musicians and vocabulary.
Rating: 3/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
My First ABC Animal Book (Happy Fox Books)
by Editors of Happy Fox Books (Author)
Brief summary: An animal alphabet book illustrated with photographs. Big and small letters. The back has all the animals, and the child is asked if they know them.
Rating: 3/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—
There is another Happy Fox book that came out this year teaching colors called My First Colors: Learn About Our Colorful World.
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
C Is for Car: An ABC Car Primer
by Ashley Marie Mireles (Author), Volha Kaliaha (Illustrator)
Brief summary: A car for each letter.
Comments: I learned some new ones. Good visual introduction to specific cars.
Rating: 3/5 đź“—đź“—đź“—
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Children’s book titles are carefully handpicked by a certified elementary school librarian who, although retired, still enjoys reading children’s books, especially picture books, and recommending them to busy teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book lovers.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris reads before recommending are checked out from the public library, except for those much-appreciated complimentary copies sent to her for an honest review. Those are noted.