Customer Reviews

Alligator Arrived With Apples : A Potluck Alphabet Feast

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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As a kindergarten teacher I am always on the lookout for alphabet books that portray letters and sounds in a different way than I read just the day before, while keeping to the same concepts. We really enjoyed the illustrations here. Several of my students noticed that this illustrator drew the ducks in the book we used on our first day of school because the pictures are simple, clear, and not too ornate. We enjoyed this work, and heartily recommend you stop by to have lunch or dinner with these folks while learning the a, b, c's.

A delightful and rollicking ABC, this picture-book will be appreciated by anyone who loves good food, celebration, Thanksgiving --- and maybe most of all, anyone who does all these things and is ALSO a vegetarian. Not that there's a vegetarian agenda --- the book is not at all evangelical --- but it happens that at this Thanksgiving feast, Turkey is a guest, not an entree, Trucking in Turnips (just as Bear Brought Banana Bread, Biscuits & Butter and Cat Carried Cherry Compote and Cranberry Cobbler). We read ALLIGATOR aloud before every Thanksgiving at our home, and it makes all of us, of all ages, giggle, cheer, and happily dig in. A true celebration of a book, and delicious.

Alligator Arrived with Apples: A Potluck Alphabet Feast is an endearing story. It is so cute; it begs to be read repeatedly. The illustrations are adorable, and they remind me of a cross between Sandra Boynton's crazy characters, and Richards Scarry's Busytown animals. Technically speaking, the illustrations are very basic with simple washes of color, but the personalities of the animals are so droll the pictures are irresistible.
I wasn't sure how my son would react to this book. He's in Kindergarten, thus, he's outgrown alphabet books, but he adored this Thanksgiving tale. Many of the food items are new to his young eyes, and he was curious about each one. The copyright page is a two-page spread that features all the menu items. The food is in alphabetic order, and labeled accordingly. I think we discussed this page four separate times. We also poured over the picture where the tables are set, and the place cards are aligned in front of the each place setting. My son wanted to address each animal, and was distraught when he discovered there wasn't an animal for the letter "R". He kept telling me that the Pigs should have invited a rabbit. What could I do but agree with him?

Parents will like reading this short, 40-page tale because it's clever, and amusing. The vegetarians will be pleased as well, because all the food choices are vegan. The book doesn't offer an age recommendation, but I think 3 to 6 years is probably appropriate. This is an unexpected holiday delight.

the book ended up for being for older children, but it was in great condition.