Customer Reviews

Matthew A.B.C.

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This is a story about a teacher with 25 Matthews in her class. Some of our favorites are Matthew C. who has cowlicks(look for the words his cowlicks form throughout the book),Matthew H. appears to be headless (ever know a boy who pulls his shirt over his head), and Matthew K. is unusually fond of ketchup (He dresses like a ketchup bottle). Matthew Z. (dressed in zippers) transfers into her class at the end of the book. I puchased this book after reading a rave review in the chicago trib. I looked in every bookstore I could find before finding it cheeper at amazon. This is a wonderful book for any child preschool thru 1st grade. My 5 year old has it memorized! I sent it to school with him and the teacher just loved it, we are going to order an extra one to donate to his class.

"Mrs. Tuttle has 25 children in her class. They are all named Matthew. Principal Nozzet wonders how Mrs. Tuttle tells them apart. She finds it quite simple..." Starting with the letter A, meet each Matthew, and find out what's special about him. For example, Matthew A is extremely affectionate, Matthew B loves Band-Aids, Matthew C has cowlicks, and so on, letter by letter, through the alphabet. Peter Catalanotto's easy to read, spare text is complemented with clever, bold and bright illustrations, filled with eye-catching detail and humor. Matthew G has trouble with glue, and Mr Catalanotto shows him stuck to his chair and covered with school supplies. Matthew I is incognito, wearing a fedora and fake glasses, nose, and mustache. And Matthew R, my personal favorite, is freckled with a rhinoceros, and if kids look closely they'll see the outline of a freckle-made rhino, horn and all, on Matthew R's face. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Matthew A.B.C. is a creative and imaginative learning tool that both engages and entertains. As classmate number 25, Matthew Y, yodels, Principal Nozzet brings a new student in to join the class. Can you guess his name? Here's a hint, he's covered in zippers!

Poor Mrs. Tuttle. She has 25 students in her class and all 25 are named Matthew! As a children's librarian, I want my students to ask questions. They ask how 25 Matthews can end up in the same class and say they don't believe it. That's when I spring the news: Illustrators can do what they want in their books! You can watch their puzzled faces then see the light. Oh, yeah, it's the illustrator's book. Then I say, Let's find out why he has 25 Matthews.

So what does Mrs. Tuttle do? Illustrator/writer Peter Catalanotto has Mrs. Tuttle make an alphabet game out of it. Fancy this: All the Matthews have last names, each with a different letter of the alphabet. In reality, students who are reading or listening to the story learn, not only the alphabet, but words that match the action. For example, Matthew A is Affectionate with the picture showing him hugging the teacher. Matthew C has a friendly cowlick, showing the boy's hair spelling words through the use of gel. In fact, his top-knot spells "cowlick." Matthew R "is freckled with a rhinoceros." Sure enough, there is a rhino across his face--in freckles!

How do first-graders like this book? One little boy who never smiles and always seems too timid to even look at anyone, laughed out loud and got up on his knees. If you know body language, you know he just joined in. (I have asked his teacher about him and learned he participates in her class. She thinks he may be shy around me. I was thrilled I found a story that caused a reaction from him.)

Matthew I likes to go Incognito. Students are so quick to make life applications. I explained that if a famous person did not want to be bothered at the grocery store, they wore sunglasses and a hat. They immediately began telling me specific stories about famous people dressed incognito. At the end of the story the principal brings in a new student--you guessed it--Matthew, number 26, whose last name starts with, again you guessed it, Z. Know what he was wearing? Yes, meet Matthew Zipper.

What a fun book that teaches alphabet, then vocabulary. We all love it! I think your children will, too!

This is a great book for associating letters with a word to help your child learn letters and letter sounds. It's all the better if the child's name is Matthew!

My class really enjoyed this book. They found the pictures to be very funny!

Matthew A.B.C. is an absolutely adorable book. It is a fun book to read and is full of memorable characters all named Matthew, but with vary different personalities. The artwork in this book is amazing, and I definitely recommend reading it!

This wonderful, witty book has enchanted and amused my three boys aged 8, 5 and 2. The "Matthews" in the book are all quirky characters with hilarious idiosyncracies. It's a warm and entertaining ABC book, seemingly simple yet successful on many levels. I don't want to make it sound heavy at all because it is so light and fun, but "Matthew ABC" says a great deal about acceptance and tolerance, and is great for vocabulary extension. A school teacher friend recognised the characters instantly - they're in every classroom!

i read this book on the recommendation from a friend, because I have an 18 month old named Matthew. This is the cutest book i have read in a long time. The author did a great job of writing the story, and Kudos to the artist for their portrayal of the spoken word. Even my 18 month old understands the difference between the Matthews and their coorelation with the alphabet. I would especially recommend this book to anyone who has a Matthew (no matter what the age). I am personally purchasing two more to donate to my children's school library.