ABZZz... A Bedtime Alphabet

ABZZz... A Bedtime Alphabet

By Isabel Minhos Martins & Yara Kono

Published by Thames & Hudson

This is no ordinary Alphabet book, it's a Bedtime based one which is a great idea - especially with the all important snoozing letter Z! 

The book starts with a short introduction, explaining to the reader that they should be prepared to fall fast asleep as most readers fall asleep before reaching the letter P. I felt this was a nice touch as it almost sets the child a challenge to get to sleep before the book ends.

Yara Kono's illustrations are beautifully rendered, full of cute child characters and adorable animals. The choice of subject for each letter is refreshing, with each one being linked to helping the child drop off. There's also explanations to what sleep helps us with, which again will help a child that finds it difficult to shut those eyes.

This is the perfect wind down book for any younger child that finds it hard to drift off to sleep. The colours are consistent and not too loud, using simple shapes and screen-printed textures on mostly solid colour backgrounds.

There's also lots of funny moments that made me chuckle, I especially loved P, with Pee being the subject. The yellow puddle summed it up nicely. With lots of interactive elements and activities to help parents make that bedtime routine that little bit easier.

ABZZz... A Bedtime Alphabet is available to buy now from all good bookshops and from the Thames & Hudson website here.

Peekaboo 123 / Peekaboo A to Z

Peekaboo 123 / Peekaboo A to Z

Illustrated by Gareth Lucas

Published by Little Tiger Press

Meet the latest range of concept books from Little Tiger Press, Peekaboo 123 and Peekaboo A to Z are illustrated by Gareth Lucas and feature a crazy cast of animals partnered with fun and humorous alliterative text. 

Peekaboo 123 features an 'Animal Antics' race, starting with 'One polar bear on a pogo stick', ' Two turkeys on a tandem' and 'Three gorillas in a gondola', it's a race filled with a range of animals racing to get to the finished line. From 1 - 20, it then jumps to the numbers 30, 40, 50 and ends at 100. There's also a zebra commentator cheering on the animal contestants. The numbers are printed in large number and word format on each tab, which stands out nicely against the background. Great for encouraging an early awareness of numbers, this book will definitely get children chuckling with the crazy animal antics.

Peekaboo A to Z is a fun alphabet book featuring a mad menagerie of animals. Under each flap features an animal up to something fun from an alligator admiring some art, an elephant eating an egg to a panda pretending to be a pirate. Mr Zebra also pops up again eagerly awaiting his turn. Each flap features the letter and animal with the name of the animal printed alongside the flap. The same typeface of the animal's name is used again under the flap, which for older children may help with word recognition.

These two books are aimed at ages 1-4, and Aoife was no exception to enjoying these chunky board books. She enjoys lifting the flaps, as they are large enough for little fingers to lift, and will flick through these books by herself. I'm currently using these book to identify animals as she wants to turn the pages to quickly for me to read out loud but I'm sure it won't be too long before she's laughing out loud at the collection of these fun and quirky animals.

Peekaboo 123 and Peekaboo A to Z will be available from the 10th March in all good bookshops or online here.

ALPHADOODLER

ALPHADOODLER

By Jan Bajtlik
Published by Tate Publishing

Alphadoodler is the latest activity book from Tate Publishing. Described as an 'electrifying activity book that brings letters to life,' it certainly is that! With a bright neon orange cover, and minimal colours used within, this is a stylish and graphical book for children that adults will find themselves joining in and having fun with letters.

Each double page spread has a different activity for children, from scribbling, cutting out, creating, designing posters and packaging, and even creating your own alphabet. There's so much to do within this dense and heavy book that makes letters exciting - Use letters to construct famous landmarks, dig letters out of snow, or escape a labyrinth of letters.

Alphadoodler encourages children to use their imagination by either writing, drawing, scribbling, creating and much more. Created by Jan Bajtlik who is an illustrator, graphic designer and typographer - He has created a stylish book that has a limited use of colour - it's all mostly black and white with splashes of neon colour. It's fun and exciting and I know adults will want to join in!

Available here.

Animal Flash Cards: ABC

Animal Flash Cards: ABC

By Camilla de le Bédoyère 
Published by QED Publishing

QED have just released a gorgeous Animal Flash Card Series, by Camilla de la Bédoyère. Flash cards are a great way for children to learn the basic elements and memorize them through short repeat sessions.

The Animal Flash Card: ABC includes 20 double sided cards which can be used for interactive learning. Each card is beautifully illustrated with an animal, for example: A is for angelfish, B is for butterfly, C is for chameleon etc. Each card also has an animal fact on the back, great for animal lovers and introducing some that might not be as well known, such as a quetzal, a bird that eats fruit, insects and lizards or an umbrella bird who gets it’s name from the crest on their head. 

The cards are a good size for handling and a good thickness. The animal illustration and text used for the alphabet are stunning.  Even when the cards are no longer needed, these cards are so pretty they will look great inside frames on walls or in a classroom.

This flash card series are recommended for ages 3+ and though my daughter is too young yet, the colours and pictures of animals kept her attention for a few minutes but I definitely look forward to using them later on with her.

The Animal Flash Cards series are available in all good bookshops and available to buy online.