Provo Library Children's Book Blog

My Pet Feet By Josh Funk and Billy Yong Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2022. Picture Book. A young girl wakes up to find that the letter "R" has gone missing from everywhere in her world. Instead of a pet ferret, she's stuck with pet feet. She runs past go-cats, a flock of cows, and climbs a cane in her struggle to find the letter "R". Will she be able to find out who stole the letter "R" and restore her pet to his original form? Or will she be stuck with pet feet forever? Kids who are learning to read will love this chance to see how one letter being missing can change the entire meaning of words. Kids will laugh aloud at the hijinks of the protagonist running through a gassy field and past a policewoman on a galloping hose. It can be hard to find mystery books for young readers but kids will want to re-read this one again and again! If you still need a mystery book for young readers for  The Great Genre Challenge , this one is a winner...

A is for Axolotl By: Catherine Macorol GodwinBooks/ Henry Holt and Company, 2022. Picture Book.  If you think you have a favorite ABC book, make some room on your list because this one needs some space. This adorable book celebrates different unusual animals around the world by letters of the alphabet. In addition, it has darling pictures and fun rhyming text that will be enjoyed by anyone. It is full of color, fun facts and all around joy. Definitely give this one a shot!

A step in learning to read is recognizing beginning letter sounds and especially how they match other sounds of the same letter. A great way to practice this early literacy skill is through alliteration. Alliteration puts a focus on same beginning sounds in words and can make recognition easier for young children. Here are a handful of books perfect for focusing on different beginning sounds, either in ABC format or focusing on one specific letter sound throughout the book. The ABCs of What I Can Be By Caitlin McDonagh Holiday House, 2018. Picture Book.  This ABC book focuses on several different careers for each letter of the alphabet, creating fun exploration as well as practicing alliteration.  B is for Baby Written by Atinuke Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank Candlewick Press, 2019. Picture Book.  Baby travels to Baba's house with an emphasis on the different things that start with B that will help them get there.  Betty's Burgled Bakery: An Alliteration Adventure...

For me, the month of August has always been associated with back-to-school -- a.k.a. my favorite time of year! Ever since I was little, I have loved starting school. I think it is so much fun to see friends after summer vacation, pick out new school supplies, and meet a new teacher and class. Hopefully your kids feel the same way, but in case they don't, here are some crazy fun ABC books that will hopefully help get them in the back-to-school spirit! T. Rexes Can't Tie Their Shoes By Anna Lazowski Illustrated by Steph Laberis New York: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2021. Picture book. In this silly new alphabet book, kids will laugh at an array of animals (alphabetically, of course) attempting to do things that animals just really cannot do. Can a narwhal eat nachos? No, of course not! The illustrations in this book are the real star, so be sure to point out the funny expressions on the struggling animal faces as you share this book with your preschoolers. But your young l...

Every Little Letter By Deborah Underwood Illustrated by Joy Hwang Ruiz Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020. Picture Book. There is a land where there are a lot of walls. These walls create 26 different communities. In each community there is a particular letter; for example, all the “B”s live together and all the “Q”s live together. This means that things are very set in the way they are. And all the conversations are the same. (Imagine a world when all you can say is “O o o o oooo.”) One day a curious little letter “h” decides to look through a crack in the wall and sees the letter “i”. The two become friends and a whole lot of happy chaos (and interference from frustrated adult letter parents who don’t want change) happens. This is a great story to not only explore alphabet letters and upper and lower cases but also to explore learning, differences, and getting out of your comfort zone. Readers will be able to tell what the multi-colored letters are based on their shapes (w...

ABC’s of Baseball by Peter Golenbock New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012 As contemporary as today's sports page and as nostalgic as an old baseball card, this is an alphabet book for kids, their parents and grandparents that can be used all through the year. Calling His Shot by Brandon Terrell North Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2019 When the legendary Babe Ruth strode to the plate in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, the game was tied 4-4 in the fifth inning. After taking two strikes, Ruth cemented his place in baseball history. He first pointed toward the outfield, and then slammed a monster home run on the very next pitch. It is a moment that has lived in baseball lore ever since. Readers will get an up-close look at one of baseball's most iconic moments and learn about the controversy surrounding the truth of Babe Ruth's famous called-shot homer. Mama Played Baseball by David Adler San Diego: Harcourt, 2003 Amy's dad is away, fighti...

Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing Written by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen Illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown Sounds True, 2019. Picture Book. This picture book combines the elements of an alphabet book and a bedtime book. With mindfulness and breathing techniques becoming ever popular for mental health, this is a great one to introduce to your child young. Not only are the letters present and the breathing techniques useful, but the pictures are beautiful. Whether you are hoping to calm a hyperactive child or soothe an anxious little one, you should definitely pick this book up. While it can be read at any time of the day, it is a perfect one for bedtime as it leads up to "Zzzz breath."

Lexi's World Pop Pop Pop LLC. Available on the App Store. Lexi's World is an app that has been getting quite a bit of buzz since it was first re-released. In addition to being named a 2019 Honor Recipient of the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media award, it has a perfect 5.0 out of 5 stars on the App Store which is pretty hard to come by. Lexi's World invites learners to explore a world where correctly spelled words come to life. Children learn to spell words in a wonderfully interactive setting - kids are led through the spelling of words by selecting whatever letter lights up. The graphics in this app might look a little low-grade at first, but the animations are really endearing and do a lot to bring the cause and effects in this world to life. This is a great preschool app for little ones learning to read, spell, and explore their world.

An ABC of Flowers   by Jutta Hilpuesch New York, NY : Philomel Books, [2019] It turns out there really is a flower for every letter. This sweet book has a photograph of every flower and  a sweet cartoon illustration to go along with it. All your favorite flowers are here (forget-me-nots, mums, and sunflowers), along with some you probably haven't heard of before (billy ball, kalanchoe, xeranthemum?).  This is a perfect book for reading together, and readers of any age will enjoy every page. Don't miss this great springtime alphabet book. 

P is for Pterodactyl: The WORST Alphabet Book Ever Written by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter Illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018. Picture Book. Many of the alphabet books I recommend are perfect for younger children in helping them learn the letters and their sounds as they get ready to read. This alphabet book is something quite different. I would recommend this for older children who are reading well, that is when it is the most humorous. Haldar and Carpenter include words with silent letters as the first letter in the word. "Mnemonic" for "M" and "Czar" for "C". In addition to words that sound like the letter, but don't start with that letter. "Eye" does NOT start with "I". It finishes with "The Worst Glossary Ever!" including a guide for how each word is pronounced--because they can be tricky! It is also interesting for children to pour over the words they didn't recog...

L is for Love: A Heartfelt Alphabet Written and Illustrated by Greg Paprocki Babylit, 2018. Board Book. Books with one item for every letter of the alphabet have always been my favorite. They are a perfect way to introduce early literacy concepts to very young children. This sweet board book with Paprocki's beautiful, vintage illustrations will be the perfect thing to bring a parent and child together and share the love!

The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC’s (the Hard Way)  Patrick McDonnell Little, Brown and Company, 2017. Picture Book. This book is amazing! Really! It is a wordless picture book that tells a story through the alphabet. So a little red cat runs out of the house and comes upon an alligator (with an “Aa” printed on the page above the alligator). Turn the page and you find that the cat keeps running (the alligator chases) as a “Bb” bear and a “Cc” chicken also join in pursuit. Various animals and events or objects are inserted at appropriate times (i.e. when the “Dd” dragon blows “Ff” fire the animals all put on “Gg” glasses). The illustrations are what make this book (and provide all the humor due to the hilarious expressions on the animals). This would be a perfect introduction to any young reader who likes to elaborate on a story (or tell the story themselves without the grownups getting in the way) and is learning the alphabet.

Find alphabet books in our Hot Topics "ABC" section! There is definitely something for everyone. WORK AN OCCUPATIONAL ABC By Kellen Hatanak Introduces the alphabet with artwork that depicts a range of careers, from aviator to zookeeper. FOOTBALL ABC By Mark Weakland Each letter in this football-themed alphabet book presents a fun look at a different football term. A CHILD’S DAY: AN ALPHABET OF PLAY By Ida Pearle 9780152065522 Demonstrates the diverse activities playful children can do, with words that begin from A to Z. LMNO PEA-QUEL By Keith Baker Busy little peas introduce more of their favorite occupations and activities, from actor to zipper on a zip line. ALL ABOARD!: A TRAVELING ALPHABET By Chris L. Demarest With an O for a looped overpass and a B to denote the arches of a bridge, this easy-to-read alphabet book provides a creative presentation of the common structures one sees and uses while getting from place to place. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A SM...

The Alphabet from the Sky By Benedikt Gross & Joey Lee Price Stern Sloan, 2016. Picture book. This simple ABC book offers a satellite image on each page of different American cities, their precise latitude and longitude, and somewhere in each picture, a hidden letter of the alphabet created by the landscape or buildings. Searching for the hidden ABCs is fun for young and old in this clever blend of geography, shapes, and letters.

Ah-Choo! Written by Lana Wayne Koehler & Gloria G. Adams Illustrated by Ken Min Sterling Children’s Books, 2016. Picture Book. A young boy would like a new pet. However, every animal he brings home makes his little sister go “AH-CHOO!” He tries a variety of animals, whose names each begin with the next letter of the alphabet, but he encounters the same problem with each animal. Finally, he finds the perfect pet that doesn’t make his sister sneeze. A number of factors make this picture book a good choice. It is an ABC book, but also an animal book. The rhymes are fun and complement the repeated exclamation of “AH-CHOO!” making it a good read-aloud. The illustrations are wild and cartoony, yet detailed and expressive. Young children will enjoy this book, especially if they or their siblings have any animal allergies!

  ABC Zooborns! By Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland Beach Lane Books, 2012, Picture Book. Another fun entry in Bleiman and Eastland’s ZooBorn series, ABC ZooBorns introduces a cute and cuddly animal for each letter of the alphabet. Filled with beautiful photographs of well-known animals like a giraffe and a rhinoceros as well as a few lesser-known animals like a dhole and a vicuña, this is another good book for little ones learning their abc’s. Each page includes a letter, a photograph of an animal and a brief sentence that acts as a caption for the photo. Be sure to check out all of the books in the ZooBorn series !    

Check out our new Alphabet Collection in our Hot Topics picture books section. Can you find something in this display case starting with each letter of the alphabet? On Market Street By Anita Lobel A child buys presents from A to Z in the shops along Market Street. ABC: A Child's First Alphabet By Alison Jay In this alphabet book, a is for apple and z is for zoo.   Jousting with Jesters: An ABC for the Younger Dragon By Martin Springett When Dennis the dragon emerges from his egg, he cannot yet breathe fire. This is not unusual in the dragon world, but the quest Dennis undertakes to find his flame most certainly is. An alphabetical series of instructions guides the young dragon as he journeys from castle to countryside, from fairground to forest until he arrives at the blazing crater of a volcano.    The Furry Animal Alphabet Book By Jerry Pallotta Readers use the alphabet to learn about some of the more unusual mammals of the ...

D is for Duck Calls by Miss Kay Robertson illustrated by Sydney Hanson Simon and Schuster, 2014. unpaged picture book This is a stroll through the alphabet with Miss Kay Robertson from the TV show Duck Dynasty . Each letter gets a couplet that reflects Miss Kay's world.  For example, "K is for Kitchen./ I'll cook what you wish-/maybe warm biscuits/or mustard-fried fish?" It is illustrated with characters and scenes from the show drawn with earthy colors in pencil and gouache. Little fans (and big) will have fun with this upbeat ABC.

  R is for Robot: A Noisy Alphabet by Adam F. Watkins Price Stern Sloan, 2014. unpaged picture book Here is the latest addition to our new ABC hot topics collection in the Picture Books section.  This creative alphabet book features different sounds created by robots. "A" is for "ahooga" and "B" is for "Beep Boop".  The sound words are the only text, and are printed in large, expressive, art fonts.  The robots in the illustrations are of a variety of shapes and sizes, and all are working together to assemble the giant, colorful, sheet metal letters.  The colorful cartoon pictures are funny and there is much for the young reader to see and notice on each page. This is a great choice for a preschooler or an older child who likes robots.

ALPHA BLOCK ALPHA BLOCK by, Christopher Franceschelli art by, Peskimo Abrams Appleseed, 2013 Board Book This book is a delight for children and adults.  The pictures are created to help children learn their letters by sight, with fun colors and designs.  The book also has a tactile feature, in that the children can feel the cutout letters.  This is a great feature for children who enjoy learning through more than one sense.  A great book for toddlers, preschoolers and their caregivers.