26 Letters and 99 Cents

I purchased this book for my 15 month old as a 'down the road' book because it was recommended in the book 'Toddler 411'. Surprisingly, this book is a current favorite and she is actually saying 'a', 'b', '2' etc. Does she get the concept? I don't think so, but she's connecting the way a letter or number looks to its name (much like she does with other objects). The graphics are clear. My only small criticism is that the representation of 'v' is a heart with the word 'valentine' written on it. She is getting to know the shape off a heart so I think that might be confusing. Otherwise, I highly recommend this one!

Children take interest in this book. They are attracted to the numbers and letters with their bold shiny colors. They learn about the value of coins. They learn the names of 26 objects and what letter they begin with. This is a great book for your 3 to 6 year old or any preschool or kindergarten teacher. The students in my classroom loved it as much as my own child. Let it be a classic for you too.

There is no better way to teach children than with concepts they can grasp. Hoban's photographs allow the concreteness of money and letters to be real and not just a picture on a page in a book. I have my classroom stocked with multiple copies of this book.

This book has excellent examples of both upper and lower case letters in bright, fun colors that really got my three year old interested in learning them. The use of coins to teach counting is great and as the photos are actual size, I'm certain in the future I will be using real coins as a companion to the book. This is a really attractive book that would make a great gift.

Tana Hoban is an author of many children's books. She has used photography as her way of illustrating her books. One half of this book is the teaching of the alphabet in very colorful pages and the other half of the book (which you need to turn over and upside down) is the teaching of coins and money. It is very colorful and eyecatching. The book is definitely a great teaching tool.