Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Alphabet Tree


The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni (Dragonfly Books, 1968)
I was introduced to Leo Lionni in my Reading and Language Arts class with a book titled Alexander and the Wind Up Mouse. We used this book while completing a mock miscue analysis. I was drawn to his books because I found the illustrations to be very dream like in a sense. The illustrations are whimsical and the colors he chooses are bright and vibrant.
However, what I like about this book the most is its ability to be used across the curriculum. The story is an adventure by letters as they are encouraged to make words and then sentences. The author offers several lesson examples at the beginning of the book. I like that if a teacher sees a beginning reader suffering with language basics like spelling and sentence structure, this book could be used as scaffolding.
I would keep this book and other by Mr. Lionni in my classroom library for a number of reasons: ease of text, creative use of theme and color, and the texts ability to be used across the curriculum. Intended audience: Kindergarten through 2nd.

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