Ox, House, Stick: The History of Our Alphabet

by Don Robb, Anne Smith (Illustrator)

Bold collage illustrations and clear prose trace the origins of our familiar letters. From the proto-Sinaitic peoples, through the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, this book follows the development of the Roman alphabet.

Includes sidebar information on punctuation, writing materials, the technology of printing, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Picture Books, Childrens, Ancient History, Language, Reference

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[The Library Lady]

This is an example of how good kids non-fiction can be. Informative enough for a report, yet so entertainingly written that it can be just read by anyone with an interest in language.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-laid out and highly informative, this book traces the history of our alphabet, one letter at a time. This is an incredibly complicated history, but Don Robb has done the impossible and presented it in a clear, concise format. There is a map showing the geographical relationship between the different cultures who shaped the forms of each letter, and this helps clarify their interaction, and the way information traveled. Throughout the book are charts chronicling the various stages of each letter's evolution (from Sinaitic to Phoenician, Early Greek, Classical Greek, and finally Roman). These charts are consistent in style throughout the book. Moreover, the sections are supplemented with extra bits of information that help expand the reader's understanding of this history. Consequently, children are able to interact with this book however they want, whether it's just reading bits of trivia, or looking at various shapes in the charts, or reading this cover to cover. Fascinating stuff!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book depicting what is currently known concerning the origin of our alphabet from the Semitic [descendants of Shem] peoples. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Bible believing Christians, but it does make one wonder how the world explains this. Of all the places in the world, why should written languages find their roots in this one region? Lots of interesting facts in here…For example, why should the Chinese symbol combine: “dust + breath + two persons + enclosure” to equal “garden”?

Very interesting book, especially for those studying ancient languages.

[School For Wayward Children]

Talks about how our alphabet came to be. Its geared for a little older kids. We read about just 2 or 3 letters a day. A lot of the information is speculation (not a bad thing) and is a little repetitive. Older kids liked thinking about how letters changed over time.

[Brian Hawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative and taught me a lot about the alphabet. However, it was very boring at the same time

[Cindy Kelly Benabderrahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes us on a journey with the written word—from its roots in the need for communicating with people far away and keeping a record of what was said through its modern iterations. Robb discusses the different types of written language, the development from pictographic to phonemic representations. He shows the developments between the Sinaitic, Phoenician, Early Greek, Classical Greek, and Roman alphabets, and even discusses what kinds of differences might have existed in the phonic sounds of the words made with them.

He gives thorough, but easy-to-read and entertaining backstory to the reasoning behind why the letters look like they do. For example, the letter A was originally a picture of an Ox, and its Semitic name, aelph, sounds a lot like alpha, which is what the Greeks called it. Robb explains that when we turn the A upside down, it still retains the horns of the ox after which it was named.

Every letter of our alphabet has a backstory, and Robb delivers them all, with fantastic, whimsical illustrations by Anne Smith. When he’s not telling the stories of each letter, he discusses things like the development of spacing between words, why we read from left to right, the development of consonants and vowels, the order of the letters in the alphabet, the development of papyrus and paper, styles of letters (serif, sans serif, boldface, italics), and the invention of the printing press.

A timeline and list of resources categorized by age group make this book a complete volume for children and adults alike who are interested in knowing a little more about why we write the way we do.

[Jason Beyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book could be very interesting to kids who have a specific interest in language and the development of our alphabet. I am optimistic that such a kid exists although I don't know that I've ever met one. I think it is far too wordy and detailed to appeal to most kids.

[Baylor Herring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Ox, House, Stick: The History of Our Alphabet, by Don Robb, is a book written to explain the history of our alphabet and why we talk/write the way we do. This book is filled with tons of information on where our language started and how we got to where we are today. It is filled with symbols and letters that led up to the language we use today. The illustrations pull us along, portraying every aspect of the growth of our language, showing the progression from where it started.
Analysis: This book has such amazing illustrations that depict the information and the meaning behind the text so well. It is definitely a book for an older elementary audience, especially containing so much information, but it is definitely a book that I would love to see kids dive into. I think it is a beautiful way of describing the history behind our alphabet and behind our language today.
How I could use this: This book is definitely a keeper for me. I think it is a great way for students to see and understand our language history. It is a difficult book to have in a first grade classroom, but I definitely want this book to be a part of my library.

[Sophie Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Ox, House, Stick may be wordy and unlikely to attract most children on its own, it stands out as the best in its niche: picture books on the history of the English language. Given the complexity of the subject, Don Robb does a fantastic job of providing context where needed, and Anne Smith’s illustrations are incredibly helpful for deepening understanding of the text.

Although I believe it would only have a place in the home libraries of children with a particular interest in history and words, it is an exceptional teaching tool for upper elementary classrooms. While relatively long, it is clearly organized. Following the introduction, each letter can be read in any order, making it easy to incorporate into lessons. I think it would be especially engaging to introduce each letter separately—perhaps alongside a new cursive letter or in connection to something meaningful, like a star student’s initials each week.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s missing a quick, poetic text, but it makes up for that with information and informative illustrations. Still, I like picture books that give you read aloud options, and this one doesn’t have a great, quick, storytime option.

[Martha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t usually add Children’s books to my Goodreads list - but this book was GREAT. I learned so much. I have longer “adult” books on the same topic - but this one was straightforward, fun and short!

[Julia Drury Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes I'm counting this children's book on linguistics among the books I've read this year because it was fun and I learned a lot and it still took a good reading sesh curled up in an armchair to finish. I loved this.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting story of the letters in our alphabet. Packs in a lot of information, but very readable.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very neat book it showed me things that I have knot known about the alphabet. It has a detailed description of where some words came from.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good wish I had read it sooner I never knew that about the alphabet

[Liz Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and easy to understand history of the alphabet.

[Anita's Kids Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love this book.

[Catherine Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and concise history of the change from pictures to letters and of individual letters. In my setting, I will probably pick and choose the stories and use them individually.

[Ann Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative about the origin of the Roman alphabet.

[Addy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know that was how our alphabet came to be!!!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nicely done picture book style history of the alphabet. It is probably written about the grade level I first became interested in this sort of subject, thanks to Asimov's Words from the myths so it may be a perfect level, perhaps grade 4-easy grade 6 perhaps. I think it might be a little challenging for a 3rd grader, and probably too easy for most 6th graders unless they already find the subject interesting. It shows drawings of the letters from Sinaic (does that mean Hebrew/Aramaic? I didn't get that impression but not sure what else it could refer to since he also explicitly said Arabic if he meant Arabic. The word does come from Mt. Sinai which hadn't done anything but sit there until the Jews wandered by.) through Phoenician, Greek, and Roman to our modern alphabets. There is a well done explanation of hieroglyphics as well as a real brief mention of Chinese. Also included are bibliographies, one for adults, one for kids. It doesn't quite get five stars because of a few minor weaknesses and it didn't grab me by the throat and make me go WOW!

[Abby Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entertaining nonfiction book details the history of our alphabet and its changes as it's been adopted into different languages and cultures. The most interesting part for me was seeing what letters have looked like in the past and learning what pictures they actually came from. Did you know that the letter A started out as a picture of an ox's head? Learn this and other fun facts about the ABCs in this book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a neat book. This book describes the history of the alphabet back to the Mediterranean region where it originated. The letters are written in Sinatic, Phoenician, Early Greek, Classical Greek and Roman. The book also tells of the history of each letter. Fascinating! Really cool illustrations, too.

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimed at grade school kids but still this title was hard to resist. It turned out to be fascinating and well worth the minimal effort - there were more than a few "I did not know that" moments, which is all you can ask for in a 46 page picture book!

[T Crockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and well explained history of our alphabet. I just wish there had been a way to tell it that didn't make it feel repetitive after about the 7th letter. It's a book that's probably best to be read in small installments, even though it isn't especially long.

[margothere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that tells the story of our letters, our foundations of our written language. It is simplified, includes a lot of interesting tidbits, and includes a nice Resources section for kids and adults.

[Elaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because the cover illustrations were so visually appealing to me. I admit it! Plus, I am truly interested in the history and evolution of the alphabet.

[Sandy]

I saw this book at Ursa Major Elementary School's library in May of 2010 and liked it a lot. I'd like to have a copy of it for myself. It looks very interesting.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great alphabet fun! Ties together in a different way some of the history we've been learning. I learned things I never knew.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun history of the alphabet for kids.