Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters

I'd like to start by saying I love this book.It has wonderful "Oliver Jeffers" type illustrations, and, if your kids read any of his other stuff, the penguin and the boy from "Lost and Found" make an appearance, as does the bear from "The Great Paper Caper." I love that this book doesn't dumb things down.Yes, the book uses the word "molecule". There is no reason why you can't expose a preschooler to the word "molecule". The stories are strange, but good. There are a lot of metaphors that can be explained literally or in their metaphorical sense, if you have time to sit with your child and enjoy explaining things to them. Every page has a lot going on, and you can spend forever with your child looking for things that start with that letter, or talking about the pictures, or finishing the letters' story.You might think each letter gets a full story- they don't. Some are just one page blurbs, and I didn't really care for that, which is why I gave it four stars instead of five. Also, it's petty, but the dust jacket for this book was so insanely bright that I had to take it off. So beware. This book is strangely aged. You are not buying an "A is for Apple" board book. However, my nieces and nephews range from 2 to 11, and they all loved this book for different reasons. My two year old niece liked looking for the letters and the different pictures that start with those letters. My 8 year old nephew liked that Vincent has an attitude problem and sits in the closet. My 11 year old niece liked the cucumber that falls into the sea, and the owl and the whale that are detectives.I absolutely do not understand why people are calling this book "dark" or "morbid". No child on earth is going to be traumatized because a cup fell from a cupboard, because a lumberjack gets electrocuted and uses his new powers to run his night light, or because a lazy girl refuses to finish her house and rolls into the ocean. If your children watch Disney movies they've seen and experienced far more than these supposed traumas. And do not try and pretend your 3 year old hasn't seen Bambi, Up, or Finding Nemo. I did ask my nieces and nephews what they thought, or if they felt scared or sad or uncertain, and my 6 year old niece said, "well that girl shoulda been smart and finished her house like her mom prob'ly said to." And that was good enough for me. If you're really concerned, check it out at the library first, or read it WITH your child. Ask them how they feel. Be amazed that kids aren't fragile flowers waiting to fall apart.Also, people who comment "I really loved "The Day the Crayons Quit" and I don't understand why this wasn't written like that!" make me think they're not actually reading these books. I'd like to remind people that "The Day the Crayons Quit" was not written by Oliver Jeffers- he was the illustrator. Drew Daywalt wrote that book, and it's not going to be the same as this one.

People take themselves too seriously if they think this isn't a kids book. It does have a darker side, which is both what makes it funny and what makes it one of Oliver Jeffers best books, yet. My 6 and 10 year olds both love this and its a favorite in our book rotation. There may be letters that smaller kids don't "get" the joke on, but that means this is a book with some growing room. And don't let the fact that its a book about letters scare you off from buying it for older kids. Its a long book and has great pictures, older kids will love it. Also, Author Jeffers is British, in general maybe a group that appreciates a darker and slightly more dry sense of humor. It probably is either a love or hate, so you might want to try to find it in a bookstore before committing. But we are very happy to have it in our collection. I am so bored by most kids books and as a parent having to re-read inane books makes me crazy. So I for one appreciate Jeffers and very few other authors that aren't following the "formula" for kids books and instead doing something witty and truly original. It also reminds me a bit of my childhood, when books, cartoons and activities in general weren't so bubble-wrapped for safety and scrubbed for political correctness.

DO NOT BUY THIS FOR YOUR CHILDREN. I am dumbfounded as to why this book is on a bestseller list of *children's* stories, though it makes a little more sense when I read some of the reviews posted here. I don't believe they're from parents or actual buyers - they mostly repeat what is said in the sales description. I heard the NPR interview with the author. They made the book sound like a light-hearted collection of stories about each letter of the alphabet. I was so excited to order this book in anticipation of my friend's son turning 3 years old next month. But the book arrived at my office today and I shared it with other parents and we all agree that the book is NOT APPROPRIATE for children who are even 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 years old, and by those ages, they've already learned the alphabet.Here is what's really inside this book:- Incredibly DARK, morbid and creepy stories. Examples: A child setting a bridge on fire (try to get a 4 year old to understand the metaphor of burning bridges why don't you), a woman falling off a cliff to her death, a cup jumping to its death, a man being electrocuted. The stories might be amusing for 20-somethings at a cocktail party, not for young children learning the alphabet.- Words that a child just learning the alphabet would not understand. Would your 5 year old understand what an "enigma" or a "molecule" is?- Insulting and discouraging language, such as calling one character lazy and another character stupid.I was very disappointed and will be searching for a much more appropriate birthday present.

oliver jeffers is not only an an author and an illustrator, he is a magician, comedian, and designer. my husband and i are both designers and marveled for quite some time over the smart illustrations and clever stories.we, along with our six-year-old son LOVE the dry and slightly dark humor in oliver jeffers' books. they encourage our son to seek humor in the unusual and random. they catch us off guard, and make us smile. the illustrations, while very good, are still relatable and friendly to our son. they encourage him to open a notebook and create. we love that.if you are a fan of oliver jeffers' books, buy this one. the illustrations are charming, the characters-- wonderfully quirky, and it'll give yourself and the kids a good laugh and lots of smiles. :)ps--to those of you complaining about how dark and dangerous for kids this book is-- LIGHTEN UP.

Alphabet books are, by their nature, meant for very tiny tots, and therefore the stories must be pitched just right (the child can't read, of course, and barely understand English). The key to a good alphabet book therefore lies in simple stories to accompany the letters of the alphabet and lots of colours, which this book does not have.

I LOVE this book. I have even recommended it to my child's playgroup. It's cleverly written and links together the short stories for each of the letters. So much better than the A is for apple, B is for bear style ABC books. I can't recommend it highly enough. One of my favourite books to read to my son at bedtime. I'm always spotting something new that I hadn't noticed before on a previous read! Never fails to surprise or impress me with it's intelligence.

It’s a quirky book and probably better for an older child. My 2.5 year old loves books and I thought the concept was great but I think some of the humour isn’t for younger kids and the stories a bit too short.

It's really beautiful but u didn't realise the board book wasn't the same as the paper version. The board book is just the letter and one picture, no story. Probably my fault for not realising this but it's not very clear from the description perhaps.

My three year old grandson loved this. Loved the illustrations. He just adores all books.