Alphabears: An ABC Book

by Kathleen Hague, Michael Hague (Illustrator)

In Alphabears, twenty six huggable teddies help teach children the letters of the

A is for Amanda, a good teddy bear
Who carries sweet apples everywhere.

Michael Hague's warm, detailed paintings complement Kathleen Hague's happy, rhyming texts. Even the youngest of readers will treasure and learn from these two charming concept books.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Juvenile, Young Adult

28 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Brittany Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

My three year old absolutely love the alphabet and he likes teddy bears. This book was very well loved by him! He is sad that it has to be returned to the library, so it will probably end up under the Christmas tree for him this year!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet, rhyming alphabet book depicting 26 anthropomorphic teddy bears in various activities and with different personalities.

The narrative is lyrical and would be fun to read aloud, and the illustrations convey an old-fashioned, nostalgic time.

I think this would be fun to read with a child, but I really think this is one of those themed alphabet books that will appeal to adults more than children.

[Ebjourney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sweet teddy bear type of book. If you grew up with teddy bears, this book will feel a bit nostalgic. Each letter is the name of the Teddy bear with something they are doing. I loved this book. The illustrations are great, and are old in their own right.

[Emmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another I have read so many times in the past month (and I know I'll read more) that I'm counting it on m challenge.

While not as bad as Numbears, I still struggled with the rhymes and a couple of places that were just not OK for the age children this is designed for.

[Jensine Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for young children. This book introduces the letters of the alphabet using different bears throughout. I feel that this would keep young children intrigued.

[Grandma M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun alphabet book with a teddy bear for each letter of the alphabet and corresponding poem about them. Beautiful watercolor illustrations with enough detail to talk about for a long time.

[Paola Mercado · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sweetest ABC book! The author and illustrator did an amazing job creating an old-fashioned book about bears demonstrating the alphabet. I really enjoyed seeing how each bear introduced a new letter which in a way led me to continue flipping the page to read about the next bear. This would be a good book to introduce to students in Preschool to 2nd grade, I think it would be great when introducing the alphabet or creating stories based on a particular subject.

[Amanda (barefootmamabookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Jennifer Strong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very old fashioned. Would be cuter/better if updated.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/9/20 Read with Julia

[ThePinkCarrot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute ABC book

[Snickerdoodle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent. Beautiful illustrations

[Lindsay Williams]

Darling book.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture book. A nicely illustrated alphabet book for young children.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an ABC book this stands out IMO. Most of the time the ABC books we've read have really only been for babies - babies who don't know their ABC's.
There's a BookList blurb on the back that mentions this being for "all ages" and I agree. It was enjoyable even for me and I've known my ABC's for quite some time now.
I also agree that most bear collectors would find this a nice addition to any collection.
Some of the names the Hague's came up with are different also, they didn't just use the most commonly known name for each letter and some of them had some thought behind them.
We listened to this and I didn't care for the reader so much but I tend to prefer female narrators so that's probably the reasoning behind that.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This alphabet book has a different strategy than the others I've looked at so far--each page has a little rhyme about a teddy bear whose name starts with that letter. The illustrations are highly detailed and look like a combination of line drawings with heavy water color. Rhyming seems to be a common thing in alphabet books, but I think this one would keep kids coming back due to the added interest of the characters with very distinct personalities. X is kind of a cop out, though ("X is the way that this bear marks his place")--it's the only one that doesn't use a name for the bear. What about Xavier? Xenia? Maybe they didn't want to confuse kids with the "Z" sound that those names start with--not sure.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ABC book represents the alphabet by giving teddy bears names that correspond with the different letters. Normally this kind of book doesn’t impress me—it’s pretty easy to come up with 26 names. However, the lovely watercolor illustrations make up for it—also, the antics of the teddy bears are really cute.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the copy of this book that Great Aunt Peggy gave my mom for her baby shower, and I read it to Charlie. So this book means a lot to me... lovely pictures and cute rhymes to go through the alphabet.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute little book that incorporates alphabet letters and adorable bears. I especially like that they don't try to force letter "X" to work the way the other letters do. Nakyla really likes all the bears.

[Jordan Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most favorite children's book in the entire world. I've read this book so many times I can't count. My Dad read it to me so many times he had it memorized.

The words are beautiful, and the illustrations are just out of this world gorgeous!

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

viv enjoyed the different bears, one for each letter of the alphabet.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this book into tatters when my older kids were younger. Love Hague's illustrations.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet book with darling illustrations. I love the rhymes also. So cute! Thank-you Sally.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the pictures! Love the rhymes!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

All letters have names except x.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any little kiddo's bookshelf!

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have a dozen alphabet books, and while as a grown up I was not impressed--the pictures are quite cute, and the kids love it--the cover wear speaks for itself.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic ABC book for our unit on Categorization and Classification in Room 407. This one is from the mid-80s.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

1998 Great art


2000 Cute.

[Kelly Risinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

outdated artwork but good for teaching alliteration and poem rhymes

Hague. K. (1984). Alphabears: An abc book. New York: Henry Holt and Company.