The Sleepy Little Alphabet

May 11, 2009
Sierra and Sweet (Schoolyard Rhymes
) collaborate on an alphabet rhyme about rambunctious lower-case letters who won't go to bed (“h tries standing on her head./ i and j jump on the bed”). Bookstore shelves may be crowded with abecedarian offerings, but the bounce of Sierra's meter, the time-for-bed theme and Sweet's offhand pencil and watercolor drawings make the story feel fresh. Throughout, Sierra inserts vocabulary items that incorporate the letters (“u takes off his underwear”) while Sweet provides the laughs (u's gleeful bucktoothed grin as he tosses a pair of outsize polka-dot bloomers in the air). The adults are pictured as capital letters, as they attempt to shepherd their children through their nightly routines. Sweet fills each room with alphabetically appropriate accessories: the X and Y family has a framed yo-yo championship award, while the Ts have a telephone, a tortoise and a tea set. Textiles, loose-leaf binder paper and newsprint are used judiciously for visual interest, while the letters' goggle eyes, toothy smiles and emotive expressions all spell F-U-N. Ages 2–6.

June 1, 2009
PreS-Gr 2-In this winning alphabet-cum-bedtime book, capital-letter parents gradually tuck their lowercase children in for the night. Sierra uses a number of poetic tools as she tears her way through the alphabet (never once mentioning a xylophone) while multimedia elementsa notebook-paper cloud here, a fabric-clothed letter therepepper the pen-and-pencil-outlined watercolor illustrations. Sweet extrapolates the effect of Sierra's alliterative text with perfectly timed, amusing details (it really wouldn't be an alphabet book without that xylophone, would it?). Parents and children, librarians, teachers, and students will pore over this one again and again."Bethany Isaacson, Wheaton Regional Library, Silver Spring, MD"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2009
Preschool-G When its time for bed in Alphabet Town, the parents (uppercase letters) round up their children (lowercase letters) and head for home. The little letters react in various ways: some act up and try various dodges to avoid bedtime (m is mopey, / n is naughty./ Oops!/ o and p upset the potty), while others become cuddly and compliant (v is very, very snoozy./ w is wobbly-woozy.), but by the last page, nearly every little letter appears to be sleeping soundly. The brief lines of rhythmic, rhyming text are fun to read aloud, reinforcing the sounds of the letters for children still working on their alphabet skills. Using plenty of white space, Sweet combines drawings, washes in fresh colors, and collage elements in a series of illustrations full of spontaneity, wit, and charm. Visual details offer opportunities for children to identify objects beginning with the letters featured on each page. A surprisingly fresh take on an old standby: the alphabet book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)