Search and Find: Alphabet of Alphabets

Opening this deluxe large hardback is a door into the building block of our language: the alphabet. On each double-page spread, a themed alphabet is presented for children to study, finding 26 labelled elements per theme: A is for alphabet, B is for birds (so features a double-page spread of feathered friends from A-Z to spot), C does the same for creepy-crawlies, D for dinosaurs, and so on.

There are many alphabet books for children, but they’re usually aimed at little ones learning their letters. This is rather different, as it’s a seek-and-find book with fairly sophisticated illustrations, aiming to build vocabulary with slightly older children – the toyshop spread, for instance, features Zoetrope and Ukelele, as well as Kite.

A book with 26 differently illustrated and themed alphabets is an original idea, and it’s fun to dip in and out of – both to marvel at Allan Sanders’ fabulous eye for design, and perhaps in schools as a source of advanced vocabulary-building for Years 2 and 3.