Alaska ABC Book

Title: Alaska ABC Book   

Author: Charlene Kreeger

Illustrator:  Shannon Cartwright

Publisher: Paws IV Publishing

Genre:  ABC Book for Readers who know the alphabet

Level: Primary

Number of Pages: 28

Pub. Date: 1978

Summary: This is an ABC book that teaches children all about Alaska and its animals. It has the upper and lower case letter on the page usually along with an animal and an Alaskan element, like M is a Moose in mukluks and S is Salmon snowshoeing. There are also illustrations that accompany the letters and words that show the animal with the other object.

Critique: Alaska ABC book is a great book for children who already know the alphabet well, but want to learn more about Alaska. There are lots of examples of Alaskan animals and objects that are dear to the Alaskan people. The format of the book is simple and straightforward with the upper and lower case letters in big bold print that look like a child colored in and the words that begin with that letter are along the bottom of the page in a black print against a white background.

Response: I like how the author makes connections with two words that both start with the same

letter, often in a humorous way, to get more words in and to capture children’s attention.  A few of my favorites include ‘Caribou covering a cabin’ with caribou all standing on top of a cabin smiling and the ‘Moose in mukluks’ which is just plain adorable.

Assignment: Have the class create their own ABC book about a topic that they know all about! It could be anything from names to dinosaurs to jelly beans, let them get creative and get writing!