Candace over at Book, Booker, Bookest, recently pointed out that "Z," "X," "Q," and "V," have not gotten the recognition they deserve. Have these letters really been given short shrift?I decided to take a look at the picture book market and see.
Since I am now going to AA (Amazon Anonymous) to address my addiction problem, I set out for my local library. It was MLK Day, so the library was closed. D'oh! Had it not been for the fact that my kids were off from school and demanding my nonstop attention, I would have surely broken down and ordered online.
As it was, I returned the next day and here is what I found.
Z Goes Home- Jon Agee
Not quite as "Z" centric as the title suggests, this book wordlessly follows the letter Z home after he climbs down from the "City Zoo" sign at the end of the day. The illustrations of Z's journey (past an Alien, over a Bridge, into some Cake...) are absolutely fabulous.
AlphaOops!: The Day Z Went First - Alethea Kontis
Sick of going last, Z demands to be first. Pandemonium ensues in this zany alphabet romp. A comical twist for kids who already know their ABC's.
Alphabet Mystery- Audrey Wood
Little x disappears from the alphabet and the rest of the letters go and search for him. This one was checked out, so I couldn't take a first hand look.
The verdict? "Z," "X," "Q," and "V," havent been treated too shabbily. If anyone has gotten the shaft, seems to me it's "zero."
7 comments:
we have alph-oops my daughter loves it
This was great! Thank you for sharing.
I've been meaning to read that Jon Agee book, and now I'm just going to have to pull it further up the line.
Thanks for sharing your research! What a fun post ... and your Amazon Anonymous comment cracked me up.
Amazon Anonymous, that's cute.
Zero hasn't completely gotten the shaft. Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 is a good one.
Yea, Becky, you're right. We read that one last night! (Just couldn't think of a way to end the post :)
I just took out a Jon Agee book this week for the first time! We must have book ESP. (BSP????) Anyway, it's called "Nothing" and I loved its quirky little tale of an antique dealer who sells nothing. It was one of those titles that begged attention, from the title and his bold illustration style. Look forward to reading his take on the letter Z.
We recently read "Tacky the Penguin" and in that book, Tacky doesn't march neatly 1,2,3,4 like the rest of the penguins. He does something like 3, 2, 1, 6, 2 1/2, 0. The zero is really funny in that one.
(Hey, I see you have a lot of comments on this post!)
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