Saturday, December 28, 2019

Review: A to Z Menagerie by Suzy Ultman


A TO Z MENAGERIE
by Suzy Ultman
Chronicle Books
Board Book
28 pages
 ages 1 to 4





Step right up to Suzy Ultman's alphabet menagerie! This unique multisensory reading experience features a die-cut letter to trace and a satisfying pull-tab reveal for each letter of the alphabet. In addition, Suzy Ultman fills each page with a diverse and colorful collection of illustrated first words to find and identify. An alphabet book unlike any other, this feast for the eyes and the imagination teaches young readers hand-eye coordination, prediction skills, and rich vocabulary. Learning from A to Z has never been this charming!



 MY TIDBITS

Simple yet oh-so-many words, this is a fun collection of words to help learn the alphabet.

A little larger than some board books, every page holds a letter of the alphabet and then presents over a dozen objects/animals/things, which start with that letter. Each word is accompanied by a simple and clear illustration. To add to the fun, the letter itself is presented as a cut-out in the middle of the page. When the tab on the side is pulled, the letter is filled with a colorful illustration.

I love the size of this one. It's big, sturdy and packs tons of things to look at as well as a bit of play. Each letter gets it's page. While I personally would have rather seen them filled with a color instead of white (to be more clear), the pull-tab idea is a real treat. Which kid doesn't like to 'do' something in a book? the tabs are fairly sturdy and easy to use, making it fine for young fingers.

Each page holds a bunch of various plants, objects, animals or whatever else can be depicted in accordance to the presented letter. The illustrations for each word are artistic but are still (for the most part) easy to recognize. The variety of words is vast, holding everything from hippo to water lily to gnome to umbrella bird. Some will be already known, where others offer something new to learn about.

It's a cute collection, which young readers and gaze through again and again.

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