Kipper's A to Z

Ages 3-6 and older children with spatial/visual deficits. Kipper, a sweet little brown dog, and his pink pig friend, Arnold, wander from A to Z finding creatures and things to represent each letter of the alphabet and its sound. Starting with ant, buzzing bumblebee and crawly caterpillar, the pair amuses themselves by seeking out objects for each letter in sequence. The large book format gives enough space for the simple watercolor figures to be silhouetted on a white background along with big, black text with the letter at issue in even bigger, bolder black. Children, even as young as 3 or those with spatial and visual learning deficits, will be hard pushed to miss the letter and its representative, and the sound of each letter is often repeated in descriptive words highlighting it to listening ears. Not only does the book teach the letters and their sounds, but many humorous touches make it multileveled for older children and fun for adults. Such as when Kipper and Arnold cannot find an item for the letter k, older readers will shout out proudly,[KIPPER!] Or, the reappearing zebra who continually wonders when it?s his turn, will bring giggles because everyone knows zebra always comes last at Z. A gentle, sometimes silly wander through the alphabet.

I bought this book for my two year old daughter because she has shown an intrest in learning the alphabet. We don't watch Nickaloden so I am not all that familiar with Kipper but you don't have to know anything about him to enjoy this book. Kipper and his friend Arnold the pig are adorable. They guide the reader through the book as each letter of the alphabet is introduced. Periodically a zebra pops up asking if it is his turn yet. It is a clever story and a great learning tool. We read it every day after the all time best alphabet book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I don't want to push my daughter into learning the alphabet and these two books have allowed me to present it to her in a fun way.

My 2-1/2 year old twins adore Kipper from the Nick Jr. channel. We've bought all the tapes (more please!) and they beg for Kipper every night. We got a few Kipper books and they like those too. This one is the very best however. Mick Inkpen does a fabulous job with the alphabet in a fresh and fun way that is uniquely "Kipper." If you follow the show, it's really "very Kipper." Pig, Arnold, ducks, Tiger, Jake all make their appearance. Luckily no space bleepers appear. (Mick, please knock off the weird aliens and scary episodes -- my toddlers have declared them "Too scar-wy Mama!" and it really detracts from your core competency.) Buy this one with confidence.

This book is great! It creatively and humorously takes you through the alphabet with adorable illustrations and fun topics. Kipper and Arnold start at A and meet their Zebra friend at Z, encountering many creatures along the way. Not your typical "A is for apple book," These hosts introduce words like volcano and "No, Not now!" This book can and should definitely be used for children younger than five...a great way to start introducing reading to toddlers! Mick Inkpen has done it again with this wonderful book!

Although these books are officially aged from two to five years old, we believe that reading to your children should start long before that. Our six month old baby girl loves the Kipper cartoon series as well as the books. This particular book is an easy way to start your child learning his or her ABC's. We feel that the Kipper series is very well balanced as Kipper is not always the hero, nor is he always found to be the one at fault. It is a very calming book that captures both interest and imagination of our child. We are on our way to collecting the whole series of books, including the series of board books. Although this is not a board book, with help, young children can enjoy it immensely.