Phonobet

by Kathy Weeden, Kim Drane (Illustrator)

Come and meet the Phonobet, old Alpha Betty’s twin,
The set of all the sounds you use when waggling your chin.

Phonobet is a modern-day, Australian answer to Dr Seuss’s ABC. This very clever rhyming text takes an onomatopoeic romp through the 44 phonemes of Australian (and British) English, comparing sounds to trees, bees, trains, robots, monkeys, pirates and more. The text aligns with primary-school phonics programs and could be used by educators in this field, but is equally successful as a fun read-aloud book for parents of 4 to 6-year-olds.

Children will enjoy Kim Drane’s bold, colourful and fun-filled illustrations, which pop on the page.

Genres: Language

40 pages, Hardcover

Published May 31, 2023

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

An orginal approach to teach children about phonemes and the different sounds in the alphabet through single letters and letter combinations. The use of verse to explain such a complex concept does not always work and the text can be a little confusing in places. The language in teh vers, and the bright child like pictures will appeal to quire young children but htis is not really the target age group for this level of complexity in learning language.
Although a novel attempt to convey the different sound components of the alphabet i feelit will go over the heads of target audience.

2024 CBCA New Illustrator shortlisted title

[Lauren Makepeace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great way to introduce the concept that letters can make different sounds, or discuss all the different phonemes there are. While this book may look appealing for small children the concepts are beyond them (although it's verbally/aurally fun to read for littlies anyway), I would suggest prep/foundation year of schooling or once students have a grasp of their letters and single most frequent phonemes.
I plan to share this with my year 2 and year 3 student groups at our next library session.

[Kelly Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for making phonics fun with students. They really enjoyed it and it helped us set up our sound wall.