On the island of Alphabeterra, there are no words. The consonants are separated from the vowels by the Forest of Empty Pages. It is so vast and imposing that the letters are afraid to explore it. One day a brave "s" named Stella and an intrepid "u" named Upton decide to make their way through the forest-one from the west, the other from the east. Their journeys lead them to a discovery that can only be described as Awesome. This lighthearted adventure blends humor with a bit of education, a lot of colorful imagery and a reminder of what one can gain with courage and friendship.
This book follows the story of a village of consonants that can't make any words - and a village of vowels that can't make any words. Both villages know they need the other type of letter to make words but don't know where to find them because there's a scary paper forest separating the two villages. One day a brave little "u" called Upton and a courageous "s" called Stella each decide it's time to enter The Forest of Empty Pages and discover some over-enthusiastic arrows to help lead the way.
The computer'-game like graphic I feel would particularly appeal to boys especially. The story is well thought out and planned and shows children just why we need vowels and consonants to make words - I once taught a boy who wrote everything without vowels and while after a while you learnt to read it I really pushed the vowel knowledge for my own sanity (this book would have been a help back then!).
Anyway, the journey of Upton and Stella leads them both through the Forest until words are finally made. Literacy lessons would definitely benefit from this book and I do recommend adding it to your teacher (or homeschooling) library.