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by Bonnie S. Zelenak (Author), Stephen Stone (Illustrator)
This absolutely adorable alphabet book features twenty-six unique animals ranging from awesome African aardvarks to zany, zesty zebras that will win the hearts of children and adults alike. Catch-y rhymes describe sweet or self-absorbed animals for each letter of the alphabet, and adjectives help describe the animals' personalities in funny ways. To top it off, the adjectives and the animal being introduced all begin with the same letter. Oh, and the same sound, too. So now we have a little alliteration or assonance going on while we have a cadence that's bouncy and fun and easily memorized. And so, associating sounds with letters becomes nearly natural. And since that combo is an early reading skill, and since being read to as a child is associated with a desire to read, reading might indeed emerge among those read to.
Amazing Animals won't create readers, of course, but readers reading a fun book with a bouncy cadence to receptive kids with vivid imaginations will certainly help. And a joyful book with silly and bright illustrations that capture animal foibles and follies will add to the pleasure.
Don't be surprised if little ones make the story's colorful adjectives their own. I didn't intend to create a book that enhances kids' vocabularies, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens. My purpose was to let readers and kids have fun with rhyming. And seeing the definitions of unusual words displayed on butterfly wings or balloons or bagpipes or a sleeping crab's shell certainly adds to the pleasure.
I hope you enjoy yourselves reading my zany creation!
