Customer Reviews

Spinnables: The Spinning Alphabet Book

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This book is an excellent choice for a little one but in my opinion, the book should be read with the child sitting on your lap and the adult helping turn the wheels. I would not leave the child alone with this book. As with any special book, it could be damaged quickly if left in the hands of a toddler.

I definitely recommend this book. It is beautiful.

From Ape, Airplane, Apple and Alligator to Xylophone, Yo-Yo, Zebra and Zipper, The Spinning Alphabet Book goes round and round to delight preschoolers. Each letter has a wheel that spins to reveal four objects beginning with said letter (X, Y, Z being the only letters to share a wheel). Little hands can rotate the wheel back and forth or all the way around as the child names each object.

While this is a fantastic way to learn one's letters, it falls short in two regards. The spinning wheels work decently enough, but it wouldn't take much effort for a child to pull them off. A friend's twenty-month-old boy got the "A" wheel off in less than a minute--before we grownups could blink.

The other shortcoming is in some of the objects used for the letters. Three- and four-year-olds will know most of the words (apple, cat, dog, elephant, and so on), but there are several words that will be unfamiliar to many children (eggplant, lamp, overalls, quilt, quail, quill). This isn't all bad, as it can introduce new words to more literate children, but as the intention here is to teach the letters and sounds, unfamiliar objects/object names don't serve the purpose.

The Spinning Alphabet Book is a fun little book for parents to share with children, but it may not be as appropriate for little ones that love to tug and who are of limited vocabulary.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer

8/21/2006