David is 14 months old when he proudly picks up a book and sits on the floor next to me. He has selected Roger Priddy’s See, Touch, Feel: ABC.
As of now, this is his favorite book.
David opens the book himself to the “G is for Goose; H is for Heart” two-page spread. There is a wonderful sensory detail of a raised printed yarn heart. He rubs his hand over this illustration several times because he likes the “bumpy” feel.
Summary: This is an ABC book. Each page represents a letter and has very bright high-gloss illustrations. Look closely at the illustrations and you will notice the way baby hand prints (B is for butterfly) or foot prints (T is for tree) are incorporated into the design. Each page offers tactile opportunities for little hands to explore.
Audience: The book also works best as a starting tool for teaching a baby or toddler “Concepts of Print”. At this early stage, learning how to hold a book or turn pages is a good goal. Teaching a young child to keep a book right side up is another building block to help familiarize babies and toddlers with books.
Of course, the book is sturdy enough to be used by toddlers independently.
That is a very good quality because David is NOT gentle with this book. He yanks on pages. He slaps both hands on the Queen’s face and pushes the book across the floor. He scrambles up to chase and grabs to open another page:
“O is for the adorable Octopus, P is for Peacock.“
Fortunately, the book holds up.
Reading Opportunities:
There are short rhymes on each page for each letter, but reading these aloud is not necessary to having a child enjoy the book. For example, the rhymes “K is for Koala, so cuddly and small. L is for Lion, the king of them all” are not driving a plot. David pays little attention me reading, choosing instead to turn pages back and forth to his favorite pictures.
I do, however, have some small quibbles with the book.
“C is for cat, D is for deer.” Deer? Not dog? Hmmmm.
“Y is for yellow.” Yellow? Yes, yellow is a noun and all the objects on the page (banana, lemon, chick, flower, star) are yellow, but the page strays from the pattern of one object per letter. So, why not yarn or yard or Yak ? (yak is no more strange than N is for narwhale)
David does not seem to notice. He is more interested in patting the adorable Zebra on the last page.
Author/Illustrator: Roger Priddy is the creator of Priddy Books, which publishes books for babies and young children. Priddy Books is a division of Macmillan Publishers and books published by the imprint have won several Practical Pre-School Awards.
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