My 1st 20 Suggested Children's Books

All of the books chosen this week encourage letter knowledge. While the stories build other early literacy skills, all of the books share the common quality of promoting letter knowledge for children ages 0-5.


Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year by Betsy Bowen.
Antler, Bear, Canoe follows the seasons in Minnesota in rhythm with the alphabet. A is for Antler beginning in January and moving through the year until Z is for Zero, the Minnesota temperature in December. Beautifully written and illustrated by Betsy Bowen, Antler, Bear, Canoe depicts life in the northwoods of Minnesota and teaches the alphabet.

Art by Patrick McDonnell
Art is an artist who likes to express himself. A sweet and enduring story of a young artist named Art. Colorful both in language and illustrations, Art is a story that must be shared. Children will love to hear this story read aloud. Art is highly recommended to children young and old who like to express themselves.

Crunch, Munch by Jonathan London
How does a beaver eat? Or how does a giraffe eat? Crunch, Munch is a fun book about the silly sounds animals make when they eat. Obviously meant to be read out loud, Crunch Munch will encourage children to read along to mimic the fun sounds animals make.

A Is For Salad by Mike Lester
A is for salad, right? No? Well, to truly figure out if A is for salad, you have to read the book for yourself. The illustrations and language in the book work together to create a witty and fun way to learn the alphabet. I really liked this one for the way the pictures encourage conversation of letter comprehension.

Z Goes Home by Jon Agee
Z makes his way home, through a menagerie of alphabetic attractions. Z Goes Home persuades the readers to find the letter in the landscape while Z travels through the book. The bright, fun illustrations of Jon Agee make the book a great read.

The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book by Lisa Cambell Ernest
The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book is extremely clever. Turn the book upside-down and around, as the title suggests, the alphabet turns into new and exciting objects. Readers can come up with some ideas of their own encouraging amusing conversation of what letters look like. A cool and inventive way to get to know the letters of the alphabet and remember them!

The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
The OK Book is a sweet and enjoyable read. Simple illustrations create an endearing and entertaining story. The OK Book is a wonderful story of what we’re good at, or OK at and it shows that it’s OK to be OK.

Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman
Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop is a new take on an old classic. Old MacDonald and her friends build a surprise in her woodshop, having fun with the noises the tools make. Children will love singing along with this one, while learning the exciting sounds letters can make when put together in unusual ways.

A Gardener’s Alphabet by Mary Azarian
A Gardener’s Alphabet is a beautifully illustrated book of gardening delights. Each page features a delightful illustration of a gardening scene demonstrating a letter of the alphabet. Big, bold words will assist children in learning letters.

Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson
Can you find the letter in the city picture? Alphabet City is a great photographic collection of city scenes which assists children in learning the shapes of letters. The book encourages children to point the letter out in the picture to further encourage letter knowledge. A fun, creative way to see the alphabet, adults and children will enjoy Alphabet City.

The Bouncing, Dancing, Galloping ABC by Charlotte Doyle
The Bouncing, Dancing, Galloping ABC is about busy kids being busy, each activity beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. The rhyming flow of words make the story fun to read and fun to listen to. Active kids will enjoy the hustle and bustle of the book while gaining knowledge of their letters.

Playground Day by Jennifer J. Merz
Playground Day is an imaginative story of a game of pretend. Children guess what animal is on the next page based on what children are doing on the previous page. An entertaining story of how children can act like little animals, especially on the playground.

Where’s My Mom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Little monkey can’t find his mom and butterfly offers to help. Little monkey describes his mom and butterfly leads him to a different animal mom, until they find monkey’s mom together. Children will have fun reading along as butterfly gets it wrong again and again. The rhyming language makes this story all the more entertaining.

Dog’s Noisy Day: A story to read aloud by Emma Dodd
In one day Dog encounters many different animal friends who want to say hello, which makes for a very noisy day. Children will enjoy reading along learning the different sounds animals (and letters) make. Dog’s Noisy Day is an entertaining story children will want to read again and again.

Yes by Jez Alborough
Baby monkey Bobo learns to use the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Children will enjoy watching Bobo and friends express themselves with two little words, while learning letters. Caregivers will smile at the familiar exchange between Bobo and his mom as he uses the power of his words. Yes is a great, quick read everyone will enjoy.

Q is for Duck by Mary Elting and Michael Folsom
“Q is for duck. Why? Because ducks Quack”. The alphabet is turned into a guessing game in Q is for Duck. Children can guess why B is for dog or T is for elephant in this creative book. Learning the alphabet will be a fun challenge when reading Q is for Duck.

Alphabet Explosion: Search and count from alien to zebra by John Nickle
Alphabet Explosion is an alphabet game in a book. Instructions at the beginning of the book explain how to look for pictures beginning with a specific letter with a key at the back of the book. Alphabet Explosion is a creative approach to help children learn the sound and symbols of the alphabet. Counting is also incorporated into this clever book. Children and caregivers will be challenged to find all the objects on a page.

The Graphic Alphabet by David Pelletier
Each letter of the alphabet is a unique form of graphic art in this wonderful book. The Graphic Alphabet is a Caldecott Honor book. Children and caregivers will appreciate the aesthetically beautiful description of each letter of the alphabet. Unique and creative, all readers will enjoy this visually engaging book.

Matthew A.B.C. by Peter Catalanotto
Mrs. Tuttle is a teacher with a classroom full of Matthews. How does she tell them apart? Mrs. Tuttle’s description of each Matthew is the fun part and how the reader learns the alphabet. Children will enjoy seeing the personality of each Matthew come through. Matthew A.B.C. is a cute and entertaining book.

Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
Old black fly goes buzzing around the house wreaking havoc as he goes. The story moves with black fly as he travels through the house landing on items beginning with letters of the alphabet, A to Z. The illustrations by Stephen Gammell are colorful and beautiful giving the story movement as well. The language of the story moves like a song, children will enjoy hearing Old Black Fly read outloud.