Customer Reviews

Obvious Letters: The Associative Alphabet Every Child Will Remember

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Obvious Letters" by Gisela Hausmann is a thorough and funny tool for children to learn the alphabet.The association with the images with every letter makes it easy for every child to retain the alphabet and have fun at the same time. I wish, I had a book like this when I grew up.

I have been an early primary school teacher for fourteen years, and all of that time I have taught either kindergarten or first grade. I am always looking for excellent children's books to reinforce the alphabet letters and sounds -- an important part of the curriculum for all beginning readers.

One method which some teachers find useful in helping to teach letter names and sounds is to incorporate the shape of the letter into a "picture" whose name helps children associate the letter with the sound it usually makes. (For example, an "i" shaped into the form of an "inchworm.")

Needless to say, I was excited to see the description of this book and read the reviews.

Unfortunately, however, the book falls far short of its praises. The words used to associate the letter shape with its sound often seem poor choices: lower case "i" being the lock shape on a treasure chest for "inside," for example.

Also, the colors for the pictures are dark, so dark that the idea of the children coloring in the shape of the letter to help them remember it hardly seems possible. Don't buy this book thinking you will be able to use it for blackline masters.

I think the idea is sound, but the execution is poor. I do not recommend this book.

Obvious Letters in a unique & creative approach to an age old preschool dilemma -- learning your ABCs. It draws children in by combining adorable illustrations & word associations (i.e. a b shaped backpack for the letter b). Although Obvious Letters uses some pretty novel words for preschool age kids (yield, razor, handbag), the children I observed reading the book picked them up easily with repeated readings. And that is the best part about Obvious Letters -- kids actually initiate wanting to read it again & again. What higher praise can any children's book receive!

I would like to take this opportunity to review with you an exciting new children's book. I have put this book into full use at my preschool.The refreshingly new ideas this book brings to the library of available children's books is a much needed help to both parents and teachers alike.I had yet to find a book that presented to young preschool children in a manner that was hands on help for them untill I discovered "OBVIOUS LETTERS"by GISELA HAUSMANN.Any headmaster that doesn't at least take a look at this very usefull tool,are missing an opportunity to a most innovated idea to enable young children to learn the alphabet,while having fun doing it.If ten stars are available,then they schould go to this wonderfull new childern's book. aaa children inamanner yh parents and teachers alike

"Obvious letters" is one of the best books for children if not "the best". My son loves this book so much that he wants to read it over and over again. - Obviously a great book - I would highly recommend this book to any mother who cares about her child learning letters as fast as possible.

I recently purchased this book, thankfully, in time. I just found out the book is completely sold out and the author is planning on publishing a 2nd edition as soon as she finds a publisher. I hope she finds one, soon, because every parent of a pre-reader and beginning reader should have this book. My child is a visual learner, and this book is the only one of its kind that helps her associate the letter with the word. I plan on buying more copies as soon as they become available for my neice and nephews.

There is no shortage of marketing funds to advertise flashy corporate sponsored curriculum in the homeschool market today; consequently, it is easy for the products from small cottage industries to be lost in a maze of brand names, bright packaging, and high price tags. What homeschoolers really want, though, is a product that works. obvious LETTERS by Gisela Hausmann delivers. Instead of using illustrations of popular children's characters that have nothing to do with the alphabet, Haufmann has devised an ingeneous system where each letter is part of an illustration depicting a word beginning with that letter. The illustrations are in black and white except for the featured letter itself, which is colored (in a color which starts with that sound whenever possible).

Each letter is pictured in its capital and lowercase form if they are different. If the capital letter is the same as the lowercase, then only one illustration is given. The illustrations chosen by Hausmann show creativity and inspiration, such as the lowercase "i" as the keyhole in a chest, and the associative word being "inside". "O" is an orange oval, and "P" is a pan with the descender as the handle. The illustrations are simple and preschoolers are drawn to the book. They can even enjoy reading it themselves, since the letters and their corresponding associative words are the only text.

I can personally testify to the effectiveness of associative illustrations when a child is learning letters. Six years ago our family moved to Japan. Wanting to take advantage of the opportunity, I enrolled in language classes through a cultural exchange program. As an American with no previous knowledge of Japanese, I had to memorize two new alphabets, or syllabaries as they are called in Japan. I found a new respect for children learning the aphabet for the first time. Picturing associative illustrations was of great help in learning the katakana and hiragana, and the same logical associations are the basis for obvious LETTERS. Using the illustrations in obvious LETTERS your child will soon remember the shape of the letters because they are an integral part of each illustration. Even better, Gisela Kaufmann grants limited reproduction rights with the purchase of the book, so you can make copies of each page for your child to color as he learns the letters.

Thank God, knowledge is not drilled anymore like it was 100 years ago. Schools (incl. our local schools) teach visual, auditory, and kinesthetic processes, children can learn according to their preferences. Obvious Letters fits right into the category of "new" books that allow children to do so. Most of its associative words are so simple (like T as in T-shirt), that a first glance teaches the letter. Good job, this is the alphabet book I was looking for.

obvious letters is a novel approach to letter shape association through imaging with everyday objects. The artwork is bright and attractive,and the letters large and bold are drawn as part of an object This is done with with each letter of the alphabet. This book is entertaining as well as educational and is a usefull tool for young readers to visualize letter shapes. highly reccommended as a learning tool and an addition to a young readers library,also would be usefull in beginning classroom and preschools.

As a Montessori teacher, I am delighted to see this book. Children learn by doing, not just by seeing, so the fact that they can color the letters themselves after the book is Xeroxed will help them easily retain the shape and sound of the letter, as will the pictures incorporated into each letter. Nothing helps children learn to read faster than showing them that letters make sounds, and that words are made of sounds. This book is wonderful.