Abadaba Alphabet: Learning Letter Sounds [With CD]

Ms. Sheila Moore, the author, and Ms. Carol Holsinger, the illustrator, have collaborated in "Abadaba Alphabet" and created the perfect prequel to No Child Left Behind. There should be no children left at the starting gate with this early reading book. Ms. Moore's imaginative alliteration in the lines "cupcakes, crickets, cockatoos, cows in cantaloupe canoes" for the letter C certainly surpasses Dr. Seuss' "aunt Annie's alligator" for the letter A. Ms. Holsinger's illustrations are detailed delights as you actually get to picture heifers, safely attired in life jackets, paddling melon canoes down the stream. This book should become a children's classic.

Kindergarten teacher Sheila Moore and her artistically talented daughter Carol Holsinger present Abadaba Alphabet: Learning Letter Sounds, an ABC picturebook that blends funny nonsense sounds and alliteration of words starting with letters help young people learn the alphabet. For example, the page devoted to the letter U reads "Adbadaba alphabet, / upsydaisydoo, / see a letter sound a letter, / U U U / uncles rest in ugly chairs, / umbrella birds unpack upstairs" and features a whimsical drawing of uncles resting and umbrella birds unpacking. An accompanying 11-minute audio CD of award-winning recording artist Jim Weiss narrating the charming alphabet rhymes enhances this creative and just plain fun-to-read introduction to the alphabet.

My preschool age grandchildren love this book. When they come for a visit they look forward to reading books with Grandma. This is one of their favorites. The rhyming makes it a lot of fun for them and they enjoy repeating the word and letter sounds from the CD. The illustrations are magical and go a long way toward making this book a delight to read. Every time we look at the book we find something new on the pages that we didn't see before. It's very reminiscent of the Dr. Seuss books that I used to read to their parents. I think a lot of little children are going to grow up with fond memories of the Abadaba Alphabet book.

My nephew, age three loves this book. We sat and turned the pages while listening to Jim Weiss read to us on the CD that comes with the book. My nephew started imitating the sounds right away and stayed with the story for almost the entire book, which is far longer than he stays with ordinary picture books. After the CD was finished he wanted to turn the pages himself and would point to each animal and make its particular sound. The rhyming, the illustrations and the CD are wonderful and especially entertaining for the wiggly little preschooler. I plan to buy this for all my little friends! Beckie Weinheimer, author of Converting Kate Viking Books

I haven't seen another book like this one - it hits spot on - my friends' kids love it. It's making an impact already - the combination of unique words and super interesting drawings. It's definitely a hit! The cd is great, too, but the words and illustrations in the book really make this worth having for your child. I wouldn't be surprised to see this book win a number of awards in the children's book world - it's just so unique, whimsical and fun!