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Summary
Summary
Wonderful things are being invented every day in Al Pha's world-fire, the wheel, even shadows! His big chance to be part of history comes when the King announces that the twenty-six recently invented letters need to be put in order. Al makes a bet with himself that he's the man for the job. Through a series of funny events, he eventually finds the perfect order for the letters, and the king rewards him by naming his creation the "Alphabet."
Sure to entertain and engage young readers, this book turns the ABC's inside out. Kids will laugh at the quirky illustrations and clever wordplay, while wondering where the alphabet really did get its order.
Author Notes
Amy Krouse Rosenthal was born in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Tufts University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked in advertising for several years. She wrote both children's and adult books. Her children's books included Little Pea, Little Hoot, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, Duck! Rabbit!, Spoon, The OK Book, Plant a Kiss, I Wish You More, That's Me Loving You, Exclamation Mark!, and Uni the Unicorn. She also wrote a picture book with her daughter Paris entitled Dear Girl. Her books for adults include Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life and Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
Her short films include The Beckoning of Lovely, The Money Tree, The Kindness Thought Bubble, and Life Is a Marathon. Her essays and articles appeared in The New York Times, Hallmark Magazine, Parenting, O: The Oprah Magazine, and McSweeney's. She was also the host of the radio show Writers' Block Party on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. She died of ovarian cancer on March 13, 2017 at the age of 51.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This unimaginative fantasy about the invention of the alphabet seems to be a clear case of the title having been written before the story. Quotidian and episodic, the tale is mostly filler to cover 26 letters worth of alphabetical organization. "A long time ago," a king of an unnamed country decides that the newly invented letters need to be organized. A man named Al Pha-as one would have already guessed-makes a bet with himself that he can put the letters in some kind of order. He then proceeds to do this, with all 26 decisions inspired by random occurrences happening around him. When a bee flies by, he says, "'Hey, that's it. A. B. Thanks, bee!' " Later Al is hungry and eats an apple. "'Mmmm. Delicious.' All that mmmming led to the next letter." Readers who somehow make it past the awkward title and overhyped premise of Al's unintimidating quest will be bored long before he completes it. Durand's cheerful squat figures, stylized plant life, and inventive forest creatures add some interest, but each busy page is as lacking in a focal point as the meandering story.-Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Rosenthal's (Duck! Rabbit!) Al Pha is a character from ancient history, a man who "lived back when all sorts of things were being invented. Like fire. The wheel. Shadows." He's a funny-looking guy, too, with a thumblike body and jellified arms. In a private bet with himself, he takes up the king's challenge to arrange the letters of the alphabet in a beautiful order. Durand's (Big Rabbit's Bad Mood) loopy acrylic paintings carry the story through a long, long middle section about how Al comes to arrange each of the letters as he does ("Gee, I really am doing it. G-that can be the next letter!"), populating Al's world with a wacky assortment of proto-trees and flowers, as well as a cast of equally goofy-looking villagers and animals. Pages are well designed and visually lively throughout, the text peppered with spot illustrations. At long last Al's project is done, and-predictably-the king recognizes his effort and names the alphabet after Al and his private wager. Fans of dopey puns everywhere, rejoice! Ages 3-5. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
After the twenty-six letters had been invented," Al Pha takes up the challenge of putting them in order. His logic is often a stretch (E next to F because they look alike, P because "just then, nature called"), but it may still help readers make sense of the alphabet's seemingly arbitrary order. Acrylic illustrations of characters shaped like thumbs enhance the humor. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Less a traditional abecedary than an original pourquois tale, Rosenthal's latest asks the question, how did the alphabet come to be?The story purports that letters (along with fire, the wheel and shadows) were already invented when title character, Al Pha, makes a bet with himself that he can devise the best order for them. The king has high hopes that "once the letters are organized, writing will really take off! Books! Poetry! Love letters! Stop signs!" The illogic of this anticipation is mitigated by the humorous tone of the text and Delphine Durand's cartoonish, acrylic illustrations, which then depict Al Pha lugging a sack of letters home to begin to sorting them into an order largely based on associations. "The first one was easy. He chose A, for Al." Later, "Feeling hungry, Al picked an apple. 'Mmmm. Delicious.' All that mmmming led him to the next letter. And that's double perfect, thought Al. M for middle." His task complete a few spreads later, Al Pha presents the ordered letters to the king, who sings them in sequence and then names the arrangement in honor of Alpha and his bet.A fresh take on a tried-and-true topic.(Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Al Pha lives in a time when the 26 letters have just been invented (along with the wheel, shadows, and so on). The king wants someone to arrange these new curiosities: Once the letters are organized, writing will really take off! Books! Poetry! Love letters! Stop signs! After making a bet get it? that he can do it, Al sets to work. With sometimes reason (B for the bee buzzing by) and sometimes rhyme (C, D, and E simply rhyme with B), Al wends his way through the letters: 'M' for middle ; no, no, no (N, O), he won't give up!; and P arrives just when Al has to run to the restroom. Some vocabulary in the playful text will be over kids' heads (for Q, a bird lands right on cue ). But the layered levels will at least keep adults amused, too. Whimsical illustrations dot the two-page spreads, blending bright cartoon images with clever visual allusions. The finale sees the wondrously arranged string of letters being named after its proud creator. Makes sense, right?--Austin, Patricia Copyright 2010 Booklist
