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Let's start at the very beginning.

Article Excerpt
Trying to figure out what makes a good alphabet book is like determining what makes a good meal for a child. It's a matter of taste as well as developmental maturity. A baby might be partial to mashed peas, a toddler to plain pasta, and a six-year-old may prefer the textural complexity of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The child who is still learning to recognize and name letters doesn't want to be overwhelmed, while one who has mastered this trick is looking for a little more action and maybe even a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, there are alphabet books for every taste--hundreds, in fact, from the simplest name-the-letter books to those that present puzzles and challenges for older elementary-age children and even adults. Alphabet books stopped being just for pre-and beginning readers long ago.

The first step toward reading is spotting letter shapes and giving them names. Flashcards would get the job done, but where's the fun? It's much more interesting to find those letters in the world around you. Stephen T. Johnson and Zoran Milich both provide this chance, showing letters found in cityscapes. Johnson's Alphabet City employs spectacularly photorealistic paintings, some of which require a sharp eye to spot the letter. Milich's black-and-white photos in his City ABC Book offer a little more help for beginners by overlaying red to emphasize each letter. Neither book attempts to tie the shapes to words that begin with those letters. We're not ready for that yet. In the now-classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault also refrain from tying the letter shapes to words, but add a simple story to the mix, with rhythm and rhyme. The action-filled plot even brings in the lowercase letters--as the children of the uppercase ones, of course. Lois Ehlert illustrates their goings-on with cut-out letters that remain easily recognizable despite some bending and manipulating to add character.

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Once all those letters can be named without trouble, children are ready for books that partner each letter with a single, easy word that not only begins with that letter but also matches its most common spoken sound. Nouns in the A for Apple, B for Bear vein are best, being easiest for beginners to decipher by looking at the accompanying picture. If you are ready for a little action, however,...

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