The Vowel Family

February 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-Life is difficult for Pm Smth and Sm Vwl, who lead an existence devoid of vowels until the birth of their first children, Alan and Ellen. The new parents "gggled wth glee. Alan and Ellen's clear speech made sense." But life still isn't perfect. Increasing clarity comes to the Vowel family as Iris, Otto, and Ursula are born. When Otto gets lost, Aunt Cyndy arrives and suggests that they try the library because Otto always loved a good story. Sure enough, he is there. Not only is the family finally whole, but they have also discovered a new favorite place to visit. Secure readers will enjoy guessing the masked words that Walker uses to tell the tale, though those without a strong vocabulary may be occasionally "flmmoxed." Luthardt's colorful images have an appealing, Gumby-like quality and amusing detail. Teachers looking for a read-aloud to introduce vowels to young listeners will have to be extra-creative in their delivery of this mostly vowel-less text. "Meet the Vowels" may not fulfill all their educational needs, but will make a fun addition to most collections."Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2008
All of the vowels are missing at the begining of this story about Pam Smith and Sam Vowel (introduced as Pm and Sm), who marry on the first page. Soon, Pm and Sm start a family, and each kid, named after a vowel, adds a letter to the familys language (and to the storys text). First the twins, Alan and Ellen, bring an A and an E; then Iris, Otto, and Ursula arrive, and sometimes Aunt Cyndy visits, each adding a new letter until the Vowel family can finally speak with the full alphabet. Children are sure to enjoy the goofy story, which lends itself to group decoding as vowels are gradually introduced. Luthardts bright illustrations, featuring people with cartoonish balloon heads, ably echo the storys silliness. This clever approach to learning vowels will prove far more fun than just the basic recitation thats commonly taught(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)