There certainly isn’t a shortage of children’s alphabet books these days. A nice problem to have if you ask me! The one that continues to stand out in our household is “B is for Breakdancing Bear”, written by Hayley Down & Annie Simpson, and illustrated by Stuart Lynch.
By 6 months of age, we were reading “B is for Breakdancing Bear” consistently to our kids. So much so, that they were reciting the lines of the book before the A-B-C song! Each letter is represented by a different animal, and featured in a tongue-twister style of writing. It’s hard to judge what my kids like best…The bright and cartoony illustrations, the sing-song pace of the writing, or the inevitable flub of a word when mummy is reading too fast.
Unlike animals at the farm, these cartoon creatures have quite the talents. It wasn’t long before my boys were daydreaming about monkeys on motorbikes, iguanas on ice skates, and tigers on trampolines. I usually get a giggle out of my 2 year old when I get to the letter H. Why? Because “H is for hula-hooping hippopotamus”! Y is a crowd pleaser too…”Y is for yo-yoing yak”!
I just recently discovered the matching activity book thanks to Amazon. Really, what would we do without Amazon?! The activity book mirrors the fun illustrations of the original, and gives kids a more interactive way to learn the alphabet. They can explore letters by colouring, sticker application, and writing. Sometimes reading to little ones who don’t quite have the attention span can be a challenge, so I give the activity book a thumbs up!
If you are looking for a creative, fun and charming way to teach your kids the alphabet, I highly recommend “B is for Breakdancing Bear”.
Happy reading everyone!
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