| site search by freefind | advanced |
Teaching the Alphabet
with the Best Kids Books
What
could be more fun than teaching the alphabet with clever, creative,
adorable, funny children's books! The two go hand in hand,
and kids
just love seeing all the fun themes that authors and illustrators build their
unique alphabet books around. Children's
books are such a great tool for helping young ones make that important
first step in learning to read: learning the letters of the alphabet.
Additionally, alphabet books are often among a child's first exposures to read alouds as well as the skill of acquiring knowledge from printed text. Thus, selecting fun, engaging, and educational picture books to use in your preschool and kindergarten alphabet lessons is a vitally important task.
And don't forget that ABC books aren't just for little ones! Yes, they're invaluable to use when actually teaching the alphabet letters, but ABC books are also often used by authors and illustrators as merely the structural framework around which they can explore a theme, a story, or an artistic form. Many alphabet books are actually quite sophisticated, and we've made to sure to include some of those 'big kid abc books' on this list as well.
Books for Teaching the Alphabet
LMNO Peas
(peas doing different
activities and jobs
for each alphabet letter)
by Keith Baker
preschool - 1st grade
Paul Thurlby
Alphabet
(basic "a is for ___"
format with ADORABLE
illustrations!!!)
preschool - 1st grade
Click, Clack,
Quackity-Quack
(animals type their way
thru the alphabet on
Farmer Brown's farm)
Preschool - 1st grade
Food for Thought
(oddly adorable collection
of 'food sculptures' for
teaching concepts)
by Saxton Freymann
preschool - 1st grade
Superhero ABC
(collection of funny
superheroes with
traits that start with
a given letter)
by Bob McLeod
Kindergarten - 4th grade
The Graphic Alphabet
(clever, minimalist 'a
is for ___' book --
a Caldecott Honoree!)
by David Pelletier
all ages
Alphabeasties
(animals created by
the initial letter of
the animal's name)
by Sharon Werner
Kindergarten - 4th grade
ABC3D
(pop-up letters,
"the most innovative
alphabet book of...the
decade" [Wash Post])
by Marion Bataille
all ages
Alphabeep
(A Zipping, Zooming
ABC -- great for
teaching the alphabet)
by Debora Pearson
Preschool - 2nd grade
The Hidden Alphabet
(creative use of flaps
and negative space
help teaching
alphabet letters)
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Preschool - 2nd grade
Chicka Chicka
Boom Boom
(alphabet letters race
up a tree--a classic to
learn alphabet letters!)
by Bill Martin Jr
Preschool - 1st grade
Alphabet City
(alphabet letters show
up in city scenes,
a Caldecott book!)
by Stephen Johnson
all ages
Animalia
(beautiful spreads,
each PACKED with items
that start with that letter)
by Graeme Base
all ages
Don't forget to check out our....
sale language arts books: just $2.75 each
These books are used but in great shape! Kids are hard on books. Don't waste your money on new, pristine books that will stay pristine for 5 minutes. Our used [but still very good] book sets are a perfect middle ground.
Eating the Alphabet
(presents fruits and
vegetables for each
letter of the alphabet)
by Lois Ehlert
preschool - 3rd grade
I Stink!
(about a spunky little
garbage truck; incl.
funny abc list of
items he 'ate')
by Kate & Jim McMullan
Preschool - 2nd grade
Alpha Bugs
(pop-up book with silly
made-up bugs,ie: jar of
jumping jellybean
bugs)
by David Carter
preschool - 2nd grade
Z is for Moose
(Zebra tries to put on an
ABC show, but moose
won't wait his turn)
by Kelly Bingham
Kindergarten - 2nd grade
Operation
Alphabet
(special secret mission
to help a little boy learn
his letters--CUTE!)
by Al MacCuis
Preschool- 1st grade
What Pete Ate
from A to Z
(cute but curious
little pooch devours an
ABC list of odd items)
by Maira Kalman
Kindergarten - 2nd grade
Alpha Oops! The
Day Z Went First
(As letter A introduces
himself, Z jumps in
and chaos breaks out)
by Alethea Kontis
1st grade - 3rd grade
Alpha Oops! H is
for Halloween
(Alpha Oops letters
put on an ABC
Halloween Pageant)
by Alethea Kontis
Kindergarten - 3rd grade
Alphabet Rescue
(alphabet letters build
a fire truck and save
the day)
by Audrey Wood
preschool - 1st grade
Alphabet Adventure
(alphabet friends try to help the letter i replace
his lost dot)
by Audrey Wood
preschool - 1st grade
Alphabet Mystery
(a cute mystery that
also helps kids learn
alphabet letters)
by Audrey Wood
preschool - 1st grade
Old Black Fly
(a fly is on the loose
and creates an ABC
list of havoc!)
by Jim Aylesworth
Preschool - 3rd grade
AlphaTales helps kids learn alphabet letters ...one story at a time!
The Big Book of AlphaTales
26 Irresistible Stories That Build Phonemic Awareness and Teach Each Letter of the Alphabet, by Scholastic
Available in:
- a boxed set of 26 individual books
- a compilation of 26 stories in one book
Don't forget to check out our....
sale language arts books: just $2.75 each
These books are used but in great shape! Kids are hard on books. Don't waste your money on new, pristine books that will stay pristine for 5 minutes. Our used [but still very good] book sets are a perfect middle ground.
Enjoy the books!
Betsy, Cindy, and Virginia (the teachers/sisters behind this website)
If this list was helpful, please press LIKE:
And follow us on Pinterest:
