Eating the Alphabet [Board book]

Lois Ehlert (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

While teaching upper- and lowercase letters to preschoolers, Ehlert introduces fruits and vegetables from around the world. A glossary at the end provides interesting facts about each food.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ages 1-3. This appetizing alphabet book shows fruits and vegetables so juicy and alive, you'll wish they could jump off the page and into your mouth. Even vegetable haters will find it hard to resist the vibrantly colored collage illustrations, which make each item look fascinating and appealing. Long a favorite picture book, this title is now available in a smaller board book edition, just right for introducing toddlers to the mysteries of endive, kiwifruit and papaya. Booklist called the original "bright, bold... well designed."

From Publishers Weekly

"Apple to Zucchini, / come take a look. / Start eating your way / through this alphabet book." So begins this delectable feast of fruits and vegetables, in a diverse and plentiful array. Each turn of the page reveals a mouth-watering arrangement of foods: Indian corn, jalapeno, jicama, kumquat, kiwifruit and kohlrabi. The words are shown in capital and lowercase letters set in bold type for easy reading. At the end of the book, Ehlert provides a detailed glossary that includes pronunciation, botanical information, the origin and history of the particular plant and occasional mythological references, with a small watercolor picture to remind the reader of what the plant looks like. Ehlert's glorious watercolor collages are lively and enticing; as in her Growing Vegetable Soup , she presents the plant world in an appealing and easily accessible manner. Both parents and children will be encouraged to sample exotic new foods at mealtime. Ages 3-5.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Board book: 28 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015201036X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152010362
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Words & Language > Alphabet
  • #13 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Basic Concepts > Alphabet

More About the Author

LOIS EHLERT has created many picture books, including Leaf Man, Pie in the Sky, In My World, Growing Vegetable Soup, Planting a Rainbow, and the bestselling Waiting for Wings. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning the alphabet in the produce aisle, September 14, 2004

By 

Kara Reuter (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eating the Alphabet (Board book)

Lois Ehlert's Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z contains illustrations of 74 fruits and vegetables, from the everyday apple to the exotic jicama. Each letter of the alphabet is represented in large serif font in uppercase and lowercase and is represented by illustrations of one to eight fruits and vegetables. The illustrations are captioned with spellings of each fruit and vegetable, once in all uppercase and once in all lowercase. The illustrations depict the fruits and vegetables as they appear at the supermarket, even including the wide rubber bands often found on asparagus and broccoli and the cardboard tubs that hold strawberries and blueberries. The bright illustrations are in sharp contrast with the flat, white background. The overall effect of the illustrations and type styling is crisp, clean, and colorful. The book also includes a glossary of fruits and vegetables, with a small picture, pronunciation, designation as fruit and/or vegetable, and a brief description. This glossary is particularly useful for items such as xigua (she-gwah), the Chinese name for watermelon. Children will enjoy learning the more exotic fruits and vegetables. This book will aid children in recognizing letters and the multiple words for each letter allow children to recognize the pattern of sounds associated with each letter.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice, November 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eating the Alphabet (Board book)

This is a very nice board-book. The illustrations are bright and eye-catching, featuring all the usual fruits and vegetables as well as some of the more exotic ones. Each letter is printed in both upper- and lower-case, as are all the names of the fruits and vegetables (Yy YAM yam). This board book--based on a picture book for slightly older children--is probably best suited for toddlers who can identify some of the familiar items. It would be an ideal gift for a vegetarian or vegan family as it shows absolutely no animal products!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, January 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z (Paperback)

Excellent! All three of my children adored the board book version of Eating the Alphabet. It provides a nice way to expose toddlers to a variety of interesting fruits and vegetables -- they get a kick out of repeating words like "jicama" and "jalapeno". Highly recommended.