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wordplay
Sans le A
Une seule lettre manque et le sens du mot change complétement. Cet abécédaire humoristique amène l'enfant à réfléchir tout en lui apprenant à lire.
64 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
About the author
Michaël Escoffier
147 books46 followersMichaël Escoffier was born in France in 1970. He discovered his passion for writing and telling stories at a young age. He lives in Lyon, France, with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
July 9, 2025
This is a delightful book. It’s very clever and when I was tutoring reading it would’ve been fantastic one to share with the kids. I have to say that it’s not a vegan friendly book, but I really liked it anyway. This is an alphabet book where the X actually works perfectly. In this book, the Q is sort of the odd letter given that I don’t think most children will be familiar with the word faqir. The illustrations are wonderful and make every page enjoyable. The pictures and text work together flawlessly. Great fun!
June 16, 2025
Alphabet books are essential verbal building blocks, but to be honest, they can sometimes (and even often) be just a bit too basic and a bit too standardly repetitive (and which unfortunately means that there are a huge plethora of rather mediocre alphabet books out there and finding a truly special one can sometimes be truly like the proverbial needle in a haystack scenario). And no, I am not saying that really basic alphabet books do not have an important role to play regarding word and letter recognition for young children, but in particularly when children get a bit older and already kind of know their basics, standard alphabet books do in my opinion have a pretty big tendency to become increasingly tedious (and that there are also lots of alphabet books where the abecedarian concept is used for something other than teaching words and letters). Therefore, as a part-time basic level ESL instructor for adults (and yes, I am also a college and university level German instructor), I am always on the lookout for fun and engaging alphabet books that show and teach without being boringly repetitive and do lame standards like a is for apple, b is for ball, c is for cat etc. and which adult learners would generally also not find too babying and as such also embarrassing and even potentially offensive (because yes, I do quite vividly recall my grade four ESL teacher handing recently immigrated to Canada from Germany and basically knowing no English me an alphabet book clearly meant for toddlers, thus making me feel quite horrible and even kind of destroying my love of words and of reading for a while, because for a ten year old who had been reading at a pretty advanced level in German suddenly being handed board books doing the above mentioned a is for apple type of things, this kind of wrecked my self esteem for a while and equally made me feel somewhat stupid).
And yes, when I noticed Take Away the A (penned by Michaël Escoffier and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo and there is also a French language edition titled Sans le A : l'anti-abécédaire which I now want to get since it seems to be similar but also different with regard to both words and illustrations) at my local bookstore and browsed through it, I immediately grabbed and purchased Take Away the A because this is indeed exactly the kind of abecedarian I can make a lot of use of in class and that my ESL students will also hopefully find the combination of text and images both educational and also engagingly fun. For the set-up for Take Away the A, where for each letter of the alphabet being featured (from A to Z) Michaël Escoffier takes a simple word, removes the featured letter and thereby creates another word (like for example for the letter A, the word beast becomes best, for the letter b bride becomes ride and for the letter c chair becomes hair and so on and son on of course until the letter z is reached) is fun, interesting as well as being something teachable and that Kris di Giacomo's artwork is visually hilarious, kind of nostalgically reminds me of the late Maurice Sendak, and that I also do not find di Giacomo's visual anthropomorphising problematic in and for Take Away the A either but increasing the potential for humour, like for example the chair in the C section being depicted as having actual hair and in the k section the artwork showing a monkey sitting on a cash register making money (and not to mention that the for the letter J, that jam becoming am gives a wonderful allusion and homage to Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham with it's statement of jam I am).
A for me both verbally and visually magical and delightful alphabet book with lots and lots of fun is Take Away the A (and yes, that Michaël Escoffier's words and Kris di Giacomo's images work really well together). However, if I were actually using Take Away the A for educational purposes, I would definitely need and want to find additional examples for each of the presented letters (or I would if using Take Away the A in a classroom setting have students work in groups to find more examples), and I do think having extra words for each letter of the alphabet included at the back of Take Away the A would in my opinion quite increase the educational value of the book (and would also make a bit less work for teachers and parents using Take Away the A and wanting to expand the scope and the reach).
And yes, when I noticed Take Away the A (penned by Michaël Escoffier and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo and there is also a French language edition titled Sans le A : l'anti-abécédaire which I now want to get since it seems to be similar but also different with regard to both words and illustrations) at my local bookstore and browsed through it, I immediately grabbed and purchased Take Away the A because this is indeed exactly the kind of abecedarian I can make a lot of use of in class and that my ESL students will also hopefully find the combination of text and images both educational and also engagingly fun. For the set-up for Take Away the A, where for each letter of the alphabet being featured (from A to Z) Michaël Escoffier takes a simple word, removes the featured letter and thereby creates another word (like for example for the letter A, the word beast becomes best, for the letter b bride becomes ride and for the letter c chair becomes hair and so on and son on of course until the letter z is reached) is fun, interesting as well as being something teachable and that Kris di Giacomo's artwork is visually hilarious, kind of nostalgically reminds me of the late Maurice Sendak, and that I also do not find di Giacomo's visual anthropomorphising problematic in and for Take Away the A either but increasing the potential for humour, like for example the chair in the C section being depicted as having actual hair and in the k section the artwork showing a monkey sitting on a cash register making money (and not to mention that the for the letter J, that jam becoming am gives a wonderful allusion and homage to Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham with it's statement of jam I am).
A for me both verbally and visually magical and delightful alphabet book with lots and lots of fun is Take Away the A (and yes, that Michaël Escoffier's words and Kris di Giacomo's images work really well together). However, if I were actually using Take Away the A for educational purposes, I would definitely need and want to find additional examples for each of the presented letters (or I would if using Take Away the A in a classroom setting have students work in groups to find more examples), and I do think having extra words for each letter of the alphabet included at the back of Take Away the A would in my opinion quite increase the educational value of the book (and would also make a bit less work for teachers and parents using Take Away the A and wanting to expand the scope and the reach).
October 20, 2017
Check out more picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
This book is NOT your average alphabet book... no it is MEANT for an older child who is fully aware of A to Z... instead it teaches that some words CHANGE when a letter is taken away... Basically it teaches the importance of spelling and understanding the meaning of words.
The large size format of the book caught my eye and I was TOTALLY intrigued by the title! We decided to give it a go and my nephew was SOO taken by it that he drew TWO pictures!! (Yes, that is a big deal as normally with one drawing he's done...)
I LOVED the whimsical and quirky art right off! It is not all sunbeams and newness, no this is an comfortable in its own skin type of book where you talk about the art and what it means... My nephew and I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the word play and even with his condition he started to understand about a letter being removed and he found it quite enchanting...
I would TOTALLY buy this book for a home library... LITERALLY HOURS of re-reading and pouring over the illustrations! A child who is struggling with English will find it quite enchanting as the sentences DO make sense but are sometimes a bit of a stretch... in a word it makes English FUN!
BOTTOM LINE: An older A to Z play on words book...
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...
September 3, 2016
Once the buzz wears off, I bet I won't be the only reader disappointed by this. I mean, come on, the pictures are dimly colored & ugly, there is no connection running through the book, the sentences have no meaning... it's just a gimmick. The (original) French version looks somewhat more successful (but do understand it's a very different book, of course).
I do adore the concept. I do think that schoolchildren could become much more facile language users if they played word-games like the one in this book. I recommend using "Without the Q, the Faqir goes to the Fair" (because there's no way they'll know Faqir, and they won't like the broken 'qu' rule) as an example, and letting the children come up with their very own examples. But you don't need to subject you or your children to the book.
One more use for the concept, in which case you might want to use the book instead of having your students come up with examples themselves: foreign-language learning, ESL, high-school students of French, etc.
I am tempted to look for other works by the author, as this is clever and I do like clever. But they're all illustrated by the same person, so I'm not sure how motivated I am to read on.
I do adore the concept. I do think that schoolchildren could become much more facile language users if they played word-games like the one in this book. I recommend using "Without the Q, the Faqir goes to the Fair" (because there's no way they'll know Faqir, and they won't like the broken 'qu' rule) as an example, and letting the children come up with their very own examples. But you don't need to subject you or your children to the book.
One more use for the concept, in which case you might want to use the book instead of having your students come up with examples themselves: foreign-language learning, ESL, high-school students of French, etc.
I am tempted to look for other works by the author, as this is clever and I do like clever. But they're all illustrated by the same person, so I'm not sure how motivated I am to read on.
March 31, 2015
A. (age 3) said that she wanted to give this 100 stars, because she loved it a whole lot, and told me to make sure and put that in my computer!
October 22, 2014
This alphabet book works well for end of kindergarten, first graders and olders who can see how rearranging letters changes words. Some of these pairs work better than others. "Without the A, the beast is the best" shows a beast winning a trophy. Cute. "Without the J, Jam I am." Not so much. If the art were able to actually show the transformation of one thing to another, I think I'd really like this book. Still, fun concept and a fun springboard for kids to look for their own transformative words.
September 4, 2015
Clever + inventive + funny + fantastic artwork = an absolutely perfect book!
October 3, 2014
I guess I had to highlight one star to say I did not like this picture book. First, a picture book is usually written for young children. Second, a alphabet picture book should be written with examples children understand. I thought the book was clever enough until we got o the letter Q. Poor Q. It is seldom alone. QU is a pair. The author's dead end. How to continue the book....and he chose FAQIR and then remove the Q for FAIR. Well, that seems like a solution but then again, perhaps the concept is flawed. Perhaps a lesson in pairs might be a good next book.
March 22, 2017
I love smart ABC books; and this one fits! The illustrations are clever and comical. Each double page spread begins with “Without the ...” EX: Without the K Monkey Makes Money, showing a monkey making money. Sometimes the letter taken away is the beginning of a word, sometimes not. This will encourage thinking beyond the standard A is for Apple.
November 8, 2017
Really fun premise - I liked the wordplay, and it's a good kickoff to get kids playing those kids of games with taking away and adding letters to change one word into another. Some of the examples in the book worked better than others, though.
Some of the illustrations are suuuuper dark, too. (The plate is late!) They're very "black comedy," so they're absolutely funny, but know your kids before you just hand it over. :-p
Some of the illustrations are suuuuper dark, too. (The plate is late!) They're very "black comedy," so they're absolutely funny, but know your kids before you just hand it over. :-p
March 21, 2020
Meh. I felt like this story would be difficult for little ones to understand. There are some vocabulary words you would have to teach before reading this. It does have very interesting and beautiful illustrations though.
December 13, 2017
Original French version of what became "Take Away the A" in English.
August 24, 2017
So clever! The illustrations were not my cup of tea, but the wordplay won me over.
October 1, 2017
My 5 year old son laughed really hard on some of the take aways. Such a fun book.
May 4, 2018
_Take Away the A_ by Michael Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo won the Monarch Award. I absolutely loved this book! It's definitely intended for young readers who are just learning their letters, like preschool through first grade. By talking about each letter's importance, it reinforces the concept of phonics in their young minds in a great way! In this book, the artwork is the story. For example, the first line of the book is "Without the A, the BEAST is the BEST" and then the illustration is of a beast winning first prize for "scariest and hairiest"! As the story goes on, every letter has a play on words about why that letter is important and then an illustration to give a visual on what would happen to the word without that letter. Dull shades of red, blue, green, yellow, gray, and black make up the majority of the illustrations. The colors are muted and dark, but this works for the book's dry humor. I think the style of this book is cartoon. There are many, many talking animals and a huge emphasis on humor! I think this contributes to the understanding of the story because without the humor, this book would not make the impact that it does. The humor makes the importance of every letter very obvious, while the illustrations give an accompanying visual that reinforces the point. I think that this is awesome for young readers who are just learning phonics, sounds, and basic letter sense. Something physical I loved about this book was the end papers! Compared to the dull colors of this book, the end papers are a neon green mass of jumbled up letters that introduced the story in a fun way. If I were to use this book with kids, I would have them come up with a word that would become another word if a letter were missing, and then draw what they think that would look like! This would be a great way to reinforce trouble sounds or explain to them why words are words and not just letters thrown together. I could not love this book more! The illustrations were great representation of the importance of letters, which is essential for young readers.
December 29, 2022
This books available in English is a translation from the original French book 'Sans le A'. It is a wonderful fun picture book. My youngest two insisted we read it back to back because they wanted to go through it again. My son who is 9 read it the second time through to is 6 year old sister and to me.
This book goes through the whole alphabet and for each letter has a paring of words one with the letter and one without the letter. The book is fun, it is very funny and my kids think it is Fantastic.
The illustrations are wonderful, my kids poured over them for hours without losing interest. Kris Di Giacomo's illustrations are simply wonderful.
There appears to be numerous books from this dynamic duo available in English, and based on how much my children loved this one we need to track more of them down. And to be honest that is one of the best book recommendations for my children they want more books by the same authors or illustrators. So this is one of the best picture books we have encountered this year. And the three of us highly endorse it!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.
This book goes through the whole alphabet and for each letter has a paring of words one with the letter and one without the letter. The book is fun, it is very funny and my kids think it is Fantastic.
The illustrations are wonderful, my kids poured over them for hours without losing interest. Kris Di Giacomo's illustrations are simply wonderful.
There appears to be numerous books from this dynamic duo available in English, and based on how much my children loved this one we need to track more of them down. And to be honest that is one of the best book recommendations for my children they want more books by the same authors or illustrators. So this is one of the best picture books we have encountered this year. And the three of us highly endorse it!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.
January 2, 2015
With a subject as ubiquitous as the ABCs, it's quite a challenge to re-imagine an alphabet book in a way that hasn't been done before. And yet...Escoffier and Di Giacomo have done just that in this beautifully illustrated picture book.
Take Away the A has a unique phrase for each letter, showing how words change when the featured letter is absent. For example: "Without the A, the Beast is the Best;" and, "Without the R, the Crab hails a Cab." This clever new way of looking at words (and the importance of every single letter) not only helps readers learn their letters, it does it in a highly amusing way. Di Giacomo's illustrations are absolutely enchanting and pair wonderfully with Escoffier's very silly phrases.
This book is highly recommended for the preschooler who loves letters, the magic of words, and just plain silliness. Older readers who enjoy picture books for their fantastic illustrations are sure to enjoy this gem as well.
Take Away the A has a unique phrase for each letter, showing how words change when the featured letter is absent. For example: "Without the A, the Beast is the Best;" and, "Without the R, the Crab hails a Cab." This clever new way of looking at words (and the importance of every single letter) not only helps readers learn their letters, it does it in a highly amusing way. Di Giacomo's illustrations are absolutely enchanting and pair wonderfully with Escoffier's very silly phrases.
This book is highly recommended for the preschooler who loves letters, the magic of words, and just plain silliness. Older readers who enjoy picture books for their fantastic illustrations are sure to enjoy this gem as well.
June 19, 2017
I love alphabet books and am always amazed how many new things can be done with a format that has been around for a very long time. In this book, it looks at how words are different with the addition, or subtraction, of only one letter. For example: Without the A, Beast is the Best. I think this would be a really fun exercise to do with my students and have them create their own stories, or at least sentences this way. How can you take a word, remove one letter so there is another word hidden inside of it and then relate them together in a sentence. Some of them would really enjoy the challenge. I will be using this book this year in my classroom.
June 29, 2015
Our girls are growing up so quickly and I have to admit that I'm somewhat cautious about reading a book with them that they would consider to be too babyish. So, for the most part, alphabet books are right out.
But I'd heard that this book was ingenious, humorous and very creative and I was excited to read it aloud for storytime.
It does not disappoint.
The wordplay is somewhat sophisticated and very silly. It's very fun to read it aloud and the illustrations are terrific and wonderfully complement the narrative. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
But I'd heard that this book was ingenious, humorous and very creative and I was excited to read it aloud for storytime.
It does not disappoint.
The wordplay is somewhat sophisticated and very silly. It's very fun to read it aloud and the illustrations are terrific and wonderfully complement the narrative. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
October 24, 2014
Take Away the A is a fun, imaginative romp through the alphabet. The idea behind the book is that within every language there are words that change and become a different word through the simple subtraction of a single letter. In other words, without the "A," the Beast is Best. Good alphabet book although some of the words are questionable for younger children.
December 4, 2014
Charmingly eerie illustrations and delightfully smart wordplay make this maybe my all-time favorite alphabet book or, at least, my favorite one since Once Upon an Alphabet, with its similar off-beat humor and for-the-grownups-too-especially tone.
July 6, 2014
Clever, witty alphabet romp.
May 19, 2015
Great word work center, but enjoyable to read without any teaching component.
April 8, 2017
This is my kind of picture book! I love the wordplay. It reminds me a lot of the NPR Sunday Puzzle, but for kids.
February 19, 2022
I liked this book it is like funny thanks for the Author spending time writing this book👍🏻.
Read
February 28, 2017Title: Take Away the A
Author: Michaël Escoffier
Illustrator: Kris Di Giacomo
Genre: Alphabet Book
Theme(s): Alphabet, Vocabulary, Literature/Grammar
Opening line/sentence:
Without the A
The beast is the best.
Brief Book Summary:
This alphabet book not only goes through the letters, but also shows how one letter in a word can change the word and meaning drastically. The different letters do not connect throughout the book, which allows the author to feature many different animals and animated items. This take on the alphabet allows an audience of any age to enjoy the humorous illustrations compared to a traditional showing of the alphabet.
Professional Review #1:
Midwest Book Review (Children's Bookwatch, September 2014 )
“Take Away the A" is a delightful creative alphabet book filled with language puns in verse and fabulous illustrations of quirky animals slyly playing games and stealing the show. The hypnotic humor and inevitable letter subtraction in verse leads to hilarious page-turning and sidesplitting exaggeration. Without quoting the entire alphabet verse, here is a sample: "Without the I STAIRS lead to the STARS./ Without the J JAM I AM./ Without the K the MONKEY makes MONEY./ Without the L PLANTS wear PANTS..." Adding to the impossible image connections of the letter subtractions is the fantastic array of animal characters who show up occupied in the most unusual human situations. “Take Away the A" is a great alphabet story created by a celebrated team who make the whole production work perfectly from A to Z. This book is educational, entertaining, and hilarious, working well on so many levels to teach enjoyment of reading to young children.
Professional Review #2:
Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, January 2015 (Vol. 68, No. 5) )
This alphabet book with a difference doesn’t just illustrate what a letter is for, it demonstrates how much difference it can make: Without the A, the BEAST is the BEST. . . . Without the D, DICE are ICE. Each spread offers a different alphabetical minimal pair and turns the contrast into a drama of its own, some drawing on folk rhymes and tales (the moon says moo! to the cow jumping over it as the cat fiddles away) and some creating amusing original scenarios ( YOURS is OURS captions a skydiving monkey, surprised to be sharing his chute with an octopus and a mouse). While the playful logic of the sentences stretches a little when the relationships get a little more complicated (as when the GLOVE falls in LOVE ), the game remains engaging, and the imaginative situations are delightful in their peculiar richness, like a glimpse into some strange fantasy world. Characterful mottling occasionally touched with collage elements lends a rustic texture to the scenes, whose hand-hewn appearance is emphasized by rough edges falling just short of the page boundaries. Trim yet casual line work adds delicacy, while the cast, largely anthropomorphized animals, are portrayed with sly comedy; viewers will especially enjoy tracking the doings of the little white rat as he appears in scene after scene. It would be hard to resist expanding this into a language arts game where kids make their own paired changes (perhaps in tandem with Richard Wilbur s Disappearing Alphabet, BCCB 12/98), but there s plenty of enjoyment here just in seeing the familiar letters in new and playful ways.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews take the time to focus on the humor in this book relating to the puns and language that is used. These reviews also focus on the illustrations that allow the humor to be added with the words. Based on the reviews, it seems as though this book could go much farther in a lesson than simply just introducing the alphabet.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book allows young readers to review their identification of the alphabet, while also adding in the idea that letters produce different words and meanings. The illustrations provide a calming, pastel color while inviting children to openly explore all the aspects of the pictures. This book may be difficult for English language learners due to the fact that the wording does not go left to right, and the pictures may be slightly deceiving if unaware of the humor being added.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book allows any type of word making activity to be applied. This book would be helpful in primarily first/second grade where children are able to spell sight words with ease. An activity could allow different teams to go to the board and create words that are given to them. They could then recreate a similar word that involves losing one of the letters similarly to the book.
Author: Michaël Escoffier
Illustrator: Kris Di Giacomo
Genre: Alphabet Book
Theme(s): Alphabet, Vocabulary, Literature/Grammar
Opening line/sentence:
Without the A
The beast is the best.
Brief Book Summary:
This alphabet book not only goes through the letters, but also shows how one letter in a word can change the word and meaning drastically. The different letters do not connect throughout the book, which allows the author to feature many different animals and animated items. This take on the alphabet allows an audience of any age to enjoy the humorous illustrations compared to a traditional showing of the alphabet.
Professional Review #1:
Midwest Book Review (Children's Bookwatch, September 2014 )
“Take Away the A" is a delightful creative alphabet book filled with language puns in verse and fabulous illustrations of quirky animals slyly playing games and stealing the show. The hypnotic humor and inevitable letter subtraction in verse leads to hilarious page-turning and sidesplitting exaggeration. Without quoting the entire alphabet verse, here is a sample: "Without the I STAIRS lead to the STARS./ Without the J JAM I AM./ Without the K the MONKEY makes MONEY./ Without the L PLANTS wear PANTS..." Adding to the impossible image connections of the letter subtractions is the fantastic array of animal characters who show up occupied in the most unusual human situations. “Take Away the A" is a great alphabet story created by a celebrated team who make the whole production work perfectly from A to Z. This book is educational, entertaining, and hilarious, working well on so many levels to teach enjoyment of reading to young children.
Professional Review #2:
Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, January 2015 (Vol. 68, No. 5) )
This alphabet book with a difference doesn’t just illustrate what a letter is for, it demonstrates how much difference it can make: Without the A, the BEAST is the BEST. . . . Without the D, DICE are ICE. Each spread offers a different alphabetical minimal pair and turns the contrast into a drama of its own, some drawing on folk rhymes and tales (the moon says moo! to the cow jumping over it as the cat fiddles away) and some creating amusing original scenarios ( YOURS is OURS captions a skydiving monkey, surprised to be sharing his chute with an octopus and a mouse). While the playful logic of the sentences stretches a little when the relationships get a little more complicated (as when the GLOVE falls in LOVE ), the game remains engaging, and the imaginative situations are delightful in their peculiar richness, like a glimpse into some strange fantasy world. Characterful mottling occasionally touched with collage elements lends a rustic texture to the scenes, whose hand-hewn appearance is emphasized by rough edges falling just short of the page boundaries. Trim yet casual line work adds delicacy, while the cast, largely anthropomorphized animals, are portrayed with sly comedy; viewers will especially enjoy tracking the doings of the little white rat as he appears in scene after scene. It would be hard to resist expanding this into a language arts game where kids make their own paired changes (perhaps in tandem with Richard Wilbur s Disappearing Alphabet, BCCB 12/98), but there s plenty of enjoyment here just in seeing the familiar letters in new and playful ways.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews take the time to focus on the humor in this book relating to the puns and language that is used. These reviews also focus on the illustrations that allow the humor to be added with the words. Based on the reviews, it seems as though this book could go much farther in a lesson than simply just introducing the alphabet.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book allows young readers to review their identification of the alphabet, while also adding in the idea that letters produce different words and meanings. The illustrations provide a calming, pastel color while inviting children to openly explore all the aspects of the pictures. This book may be difficult for English language learners due to the fact that the wording does not go left to right, and the pictures may be slightly deceiving if unaware of the humor being added.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book allows any type of word making activity to be applied. This book would be helpful in primarily first/second grade where children are able to spell sight words with ease. An activity could allow different teams to go to the board and create words that are given to them. They could then recreate a similar word that involves losing one of the letters similarly to the book.
Read
March 4, 2021Subject: Alphabet, Grammar, Comparative and general -- Word formation.
Animals -- Juvenile fiction
Plays on words -- Juvenile fiction.
ake Away the A is a fun, imaginative romp through the alphabet. The idea behind the book is that within every language there are words that change and become a different word through the simple subtraction of a single letter. In other words, without the "A," the Beast is Best. Or, without the "M," a chomp becomes a chop--though it could be that this particular play on words didn't even make it into the book, there are so many! We certainly don't want to give too much away. . . . Now, take a look andfind some more! Discovering all of the words in the book is a lot of fun, and then there's the wild, exciting adventure that follows, of trying to find more!
Michaël Escoffier was born in France in 1970. Raised by a family of triceratops, he discovered his passion for writing and telling stories at a young age. He lives in Lyon, France, with his wife and two children.
Kris Di Giacomo is a popular children's book illustrator who has lived in France for most of her life. After living in the United States for a while, she moved to France, where teaching English to young children and discovering French picture books were the triggers that led her into illustration. This is her fourth book to be published with Enchanted Lion Books.
Animals -- Juvenile fiction
Plays on words -- Juvenile fiction.
ake Away the A is a fun, imaginative romp through the alphabet. The idea behind the book is that within every language there are words that change and become a different word through the simple subtraction of a single letter. In other words, without the "A," the Beast is Best. Or, without the "M," a chomp becomes a chop--though it could be that this particular play on words didn't even make it into the book, there are so many! We certainly don't want to give too much away. . . . Now, take a look andfind some more! Discovering all of the words in the book is a lot of fun, and then there's the wild, exciting adventure that follows, of trying to find more!
Michaël Escoffier was born in France in 1970. Raised by a family of triceratops, he discovered his passion for writing and telling stories at a young age. He lives in Lyon, France, with his wife and two children.
Kris Di Giacomo is a popular children's book illustrator who has lived in France for most of her life. After living in the United States for a while, she moved to France, where teaching English to young children and discovering French picture books were the triggers that led her into illustration. This is her fourth book to be published with Enchanted Lion Books.
February 21, 2018
Copyright-2014
Number of Pages-52
Book Format- Hard Cover
Reading Level-Pre-k-2nd; GR N/A
Genre- Children's picture book/alphabet book
Lit Requirement- Monarch 2018
Summary-Take Away the A is a non-sequential story; it has no specific plot. The book runs through the alphabet, A to Z, putting a play on words. On each page, a word has a letter taken out taken out of it, depending on the page you are on, the letter is different. Taking the letter out of the word creates a new word with a new meaning, (ex. "Without the D, DICE are ICE."). It is fun and imaginative, and young readers with basic reading skills would easily understand this book.
Response- I really liked this book and how the author put a play on words. It's very cute and well-drawn. The pictures help illustrate what is being said and I believe that would really help children who are beginning or struggling readers. I would recommend it to teachers who have beginning readers in their classroom.
Number of Pages-52
Book Format- Hard Cover
Reading Level-Pre-k-2nd; GR N/A
Genre- Children's picture book/alphabet book
Lit Requirement- Monarch 2018
Summary-Take Away the A is a non-sequential story; it has no specific plot. The book runs through the alphabet, A to Z, putting a play on words. On each page, a word has a letter taken out taken out of it, depending on the page you are on, the letter is different. Taking the letter out of the word creates a new word with a new meaning, (ex. "Without the D, DICE are ICE."). It is fun and imaginative, and young readers with basic reading skills would easily understand this book.
Response- I really liked this book and how the author put a play on words. It's very cute and well-drawn. The pictures help illustrate what is being said and I believe that would really help children who are beginning or struggling readers. I would recommend it to teachers who have beginning readers in their classroom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2019
This is a very creative book that's imaginative and demonstrates how words change when a letter from the alphabet is removed. The book goes through each alphabet letter and demonstrates a word with that letter and what the word would turn into with that letter removed, so A in beast would now be best. The illustrations in the book are very vivid and they grab your attention.
There are so many ways to introduce this book for a reading class. I chose this book to help teach students about the importance of removing a letter from a word and how that changes it's definition. I think this book would be perfect for students with vocabulary instruction. Students can go through the alphabet and has an example for each word. Students could create their own alphabet using examples from the text. This book helps students who may be struggling with their vocabulary. I would recommend this book especially for grades K-1st.
There are so many ways to introduce this book for a reading class. I chose this book to help teach students about the importance of removing a letter from a word and how that changes it's definition. I think this book would be perfect for students with vocabulary instruction. Students can go through the alphabet and has an example for each word. Students could create their own alphabet using examples from the text. This book helps students who may be struggling with their vocabulary. I would recommend this book especially for grades K-1st.
July 24, 2017
This is a different type of alphabet book that explores and encourages wordplay. Young readers may enjoy the challenge of trying the process on their own by thinking up words and then dropping a letter to make an entirely new word and using them both in a sentence. Old-school illustrations (literally, the illustrations have a wash over them to make them look old and worn) make witty commentaries on the text. For example, on the "P" page, plate becomes late and a telling tail hangs from the mouth of a cat whose dinner is slow in arriving, carried by mice waiters! On the 2018 Illinois Children's Choice Monarch Award list.
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