Alphabet Mystery [Hardcover]

Audrey Wood (Author), Bruce Wood (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003 | Age Range: 3 and up | Lexile Measure: 430L (What's this?)

Bestselling writer Audrey Wood and artist son Bruce present a second alphabet book with a twist: a fun mystery that will let young readers learn their lower case letters without having to study!


Engaging alphabet books are perennial bestsellers with unlimited demand. As in their previous collaboration, the Woods bring lower-case letters to life in a fun adventure. Little x has left, upset he's hardly used, and the other letters set out to find him. They find x playing the castle xylophone for the mysterious Master, capital M, who threatens to turn them into alphabet soup! Some quick thinking by Little x saves the day, and soon they are all on their way home--just in time to make Mom's birthday surprise: a cake with Little x all over. He's the only one who stands for kisses!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A story that invites participation and promotes letter recognition. When Little x disappears from Charley's Alphabet, the rest of the letters search for him, finding him in the castle of Master M. To their surprise, he does not want to be rescued, because he is useful there unlike at home, where Charley seldom uses him. When Master M awakes and threatens to use the letters in soup, Little x comes to the rescue and they all return home safely. There, Charley helps his dad decorate a birthday cake for his mother, and he uses Little x four times-because it is the only letter that stands for kisses. As in Alphabet Adventure (Scholastic, 2001), children will work on a skill necessary to begin reading as they enjoy the story and the bright, three-dimensional-looking digital illustrations filled with detail.
Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. Charley's letters from Alphabet Adventure (2001) set off on another escapade to find Little x, who was absent from the bedtime roll call. After Little t tattles that x took a pencil and flew away, the other letters hop on a pencil and take off to hunt for him. They find him in a castle, held captive by Giant M, a miserable monster. It seems Little x ran away because Charley never used him. But Little i knows a secret; tomorrow is Charley's mother's birthday, and Charley plans to use Little x. Monster M lets Little x go and allows each letter to choose a gift from his treasure room. As it turns out, Charley makes a cake, spells out "I Love You Mom," and uses Little x four times--for kisses, of course. Visual and verbal puns add to the fun of learning the alphabet, as do the vividly colored, digitally created illustrations that look like animated photographs. Kids will love the "I Spy" aspect of matching letters to the gifts. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Blue Sky Press; 1 edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439443377
• ISBN-13: 978-0439443371
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 11 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

AUDREY WOOD is the much-loved author of more than thirty books for children, including the bestselling The Napping House, Piggies, Heckedy Peg, and most recently, Piggy Pie Po, which she collaborated on with her husband, Don Wood.
She lives in Hawaii.

My first memories are of Sarasota, Florida in the winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I was one year old and remember it vividly. My father, an art student, was making extra income by repainting circus murals.

The people in the circus were my friends. I was bounced on the knee of the tallest man in the world and rocked in the arms of the fat lady who could not stand up. My first baby-sitters were a family of little people who lived in a trailer next to ours. They tAudrey2old me stories about the animals they worked with: Chi Chi the Chimpanzee, an elephant named Elder, and Gargantua the Gorilla.

My mother says I was a fast learner, always ahead of my age. My father taught me to swim before I could walk. I walked at seven months and climbed over a seven foot chain link fence when I was one year old. Everyone in the circus thought I was going to be a trapeze artist.

When I was two, I traveled with my parents to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where they studied art. Spanish became my second language. Because my mother read to me every day, I fell in love with books and was reading by age three.

My parents had two more girls, which made me the oldest sister. All of us were trained in the arts: music, dance, painting, and drama. We had a miniature stage in our basement, complete with light-bulb floodlights and a dusty red velvet curtain. Admission for the plays we produced was a bargain--twenty-five cents.

When I was in the first grade, I wanted to grow up to be an artist like my father. Then, in the fourth grade, I decided I'd like to be a children's book author. As an adult who writes and illustrates children's books, I have realized both my childhood ambitions.

I got in trouble in school once for crossing out my favorite author's name and putting in mine--Audrey Brewer instead of Dr. Seuss!

My great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all professional artists. Since I am also a professional artist, there are four consecutive generations of artists in our family. However, I am the only female artist.

On our honeymoon, I read my new husband Don Wood the classic children's book entitled At the Back of the North Wind. Seven years later, we teamed up to create our first picture book together.

When our son Bruce Robert was two years old, I began to read picture books to him. He helped to remind me of my childhood ambitions. That's when I began to write children's books seriously.

www.Audreywood.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent follow up to Alphabet Adventure October 2, 2003

By Ariel Pawlak

Format:Hardcover

I bought this book for my four year old daaughter because we both loved Alphabet Adventure so much. The story centers on little x this time. He decidedes to run away because he is a letter that isn't used very much. All of the other letters embark on an adventure to bring him home. This book is especially perfect for this time of year. There is a spooky castle and a monster M that evokes images of Halloween. At the end of the story little x realizes that he is a very special letter after all. Children love the idea of a mystery and the illustrations in this book are really wonderful. Everytime you read it you will see something new. My daughter especially loves the page where the letters match up to an object that they begin with. My daughter has learned a lot from this book and Alphabet Adventure. I highly recommend them both.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing illustrations July 23, 2005

By A. Kuntzman

Format:Hardcover

My first grade class absolutely love this book. The illustrations are amazing. I have to order a new copy for my classroom this year because the pages are falling out of my old copy from being read so much. I highly recommend this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations, plot a bit mystifying August 13, 2004

By J. Marren VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

My 3 1/2 year old nephew loves this book. Little "x" is missing, and his alphabet friends fly off on a pencil to find him. X feels neglected in the real world, and he has found a home playing the xylophone for the "M" master. X's alphabet friends convince him to come home where he becomes the "X" kisses on mother's birthday cake. I'm pretty sure that most of this went right over my nephew's head, but he loves the bright colors, knew "X" was the missing letter, and enjoyed counting the kisses at the end. And and we both loved the illustrations!