Max's ABC

Max and Ruby

by Rosemary Wells

Everybody’s favorite bunnies, Max and Ruby, are back, starring in their very own ABC concept book. Max’s ants have escaped from their farm, and now they’re searching for food. The ants start with Max’s sandwich, and soon they’re everywhere! Fortunately, Ruby comes to the rescue. Max’s ABC teaches the alphabet by featuring a different letter on each page, large and colorful so they’re easy to spot. The very youngest readers will love practicing their letters with Max and Ruby.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Rabbits, School, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. This book did not receive any awards.
2. This book would be appropriate for Preschool and Kindergarten levels.
3. Max and Ruby are two lovable characters who are enjoying some summer snacks. Unfortunately for them they are found by a group of ants that are also trying to enjoy Max and Ruby's snacks. Max and Ruby go on an alphabet quest to try and make the ants go away!
4. Max's ABCs is a very unique way to involve the A,B,C's in an adventure that is relatable to children. It was also great because it has multiple words that begin with each specific letter in the alphabet. I would include this book in my classroom if I was teaching a preschool or kindergarten classroom. The only part that I wish was not included in this book was the use of bathing in bath salts. (I would replace this with a bubbly bath if I was reading it to a group of children.)
5. A) I would love to do a sand/shaving cream tracing activity where the students will practice drawing the letter with their finger while we are reading the book. Then during center time the students could practice writing the letters with their finger on a sand/shaving cream table.
B) Another great activity would be a matching activity. If there are different letter boxes with items in each box that correspond with the specific letter. Then the students can find other items that correspond with the letter in the books.

[Jennifer Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards Received: None

Appropriate grade level(s): Preschool to First Grade

Summary: Max’s ants escaped from their ant farm and they’re searching for food. The book follows Max and the ants throughout the house while incorporating the ABC’s to talk about the location of the ants.

My review: Max’s ABC teaches the alphabet by using a different letter on each page and enlarging that letter to make it easy to see. This book is a humorous way to teach children the ABC’s.

1-2 Possible in-class uses: Max’s ABC can be used in a classroom with a tracing activity. A teacher can give students a sheet of paper with the same letter from the book outlined and as the students go to each page they can color in the letter with crayons. This will allow the students to see the letter and then trace it. Another way it can be used in the classroom is if the class fosters an ant farm. The ant farm teaches the children to ensure they keep the ants safe and clean up after themselves so they don’t attract other ants into the classroom.

[Izzy Febbraro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I think it would be appropriate for preschool and kindergarten children who are starting to learn their ABC’s. I thought the illustrations in this book were very bright and capturing and I loved how the book put the alphabet letters in bold so the students can see what letter each page is showing. I also liked how some of the illustrations were going off of one page and connecting to the other page like when Max’s clothes were flying from letter F to G. When teachers are reading this book to their students, they can really emphasize each letter and even ask follow up question such as “does anyone remember what happened to Max with the letter C?” Your students would respond with “he poured his cup of cranberry juice onto the ants in his pants”. Teachers can also do a lesson plan having the students trace the letters from each page onto their own paper. Overall, I think this is a really cute book for children and I would definitely incorporate it into my lesson plans.

[Karlee Blasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is Max’s ABC by Rosemary Wells. The book is based on the Max and Ruby children's show. It is another ABC concept picture book. There is a unique overarching story about ants getting out of the ant farm. Each letter is bolded every time it's used in the sentence for that specific letter. I thoroughly enjoyed this as it reminded me of my childhood. The illustrations are crisp and amazing. My favorite illustration is the ants all over Max’s ice pop.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells. It is an alphabet book and features a different letter and words that start with that letter on each page. The main character in this book is a bunny named Max, but the story also features another character, his sister Ruby. Max finds out that his pet ants have escaped from his ant farm. The book goes on to follow the story of Max and how he searches for the ants in his home. I really enjoyed the illustrations that were included throughout this book, as they were very fun. For example, the illustrations showed ants traveling in a line throughout all of the rooms in Max and Ruby’s house. My favorite illustrations in the book appear when Max decides to take a bath and the ants jump in after him and Max gives them the side eye. I would incorporate this book into an alphabet review or letter tracing activity for kindergarten. Overall, I really enjoyed this ABC book and think that it could be included in a classroom library for preschool, kindergarten, or first grade.

[superawesomekt · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4-year-old's rating: 5 stars "This is one of my favorites!"
My rating: 4 stars

This is classic Max and a lot of fun! It abandons the "A is for.." method and instead tells a story with the alphabet words integrated. This would be a fun one for independent readers to enjoy.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun choice for our kindergarten read aloud, before an alphabet scavenger hunt.

[Lindsay Lodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fact that this alphabet book has a real story running through it and thought it was quite clever. However, I didn't actually like the story - didn't like the ants!

[Sharon🔮👽 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy for the kiddos 👏🏻

[Erik D]

Max’s ABC by Rosemary Wells (2006)
It’s Max’s birthday but he has a little dilemma…ANTS! Ants have escaped his ant farm and are looking for his birthday cake! Ants go up and down, get splashed with juice, bite and chomp and generally run amok in this colorful alphabet book by Rosemary Wells. Wells’ use of pastels and solids draw a young reader’s attention to the story as well as the featured letter of each page. Her masterful use of space and composition tell the tale of the travelling ants as they wind their way through the alphabet, across the pages, and Max’s house causing mayhem for Max and his sister Ruby. This book is a great way to teach beginning readers the alphabet and an excellent starting concepts addition to any library for children 3-5. This book is part of the “Max and Ruby” series by Wells. Target Audience: Ages 3-5

[Veronica Wolkan]

Title: Max’s ABC
Author: Rosemary Wells
Illustrator: (if different than author)
Genre: Alphabet book
Theme(s): siblings, family, teamwork, cooperation
Opening line/sentence: Max’s Ants escaped from their Ant farm.
Brief Book Summary: The story is about the famous Max and Ruby and Max’s ants. Each page contains a continual plot of the two rabbits and the trouble Max’s ants bring, and each page also contains words that begin with the respective alphabet.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: The Horn Book: (1) PS An alphabet-driven sequence involving ants is fashioned into a satisfying Max-and-Ruby story. Plump, determined, and as beguilingly expressive as ever, the bunny siblings are set on large, square blocks of vibrant Easter egg colors, the bolded capital letters nicely incorporated into the design and sometimes even the action; the almost-life-size ants are realistically (and amusingly) ubiquitous.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: CLCD Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 8)) In a lighthearted romp through the alphabet, Wells’ endearing rabbit siblings Max and Ruby are back. The “A” entry begins a playful and cohesive story in which Max’s “Ants” accidentally escape from their farm in search of his birthday cake. Wells continues through the alphabet, highlighting each leter in the text as the siblings use imaginative schemes to attempt to corral the critters. Each letter is featured independently and is prominently displayed in the colorful full-page illustrations. Featured letters are also bold and capitalized in the brief, hysterically funny text snippets: “Max poured his Cup of Cranberry juice onto the ants in his pants.” Wells includes some fun, but not over-the-top alliteration and tongue-tickling sounds to make this text appropriate for reading aloud. Some of the text is a bit strained to fit the alphabet concept, but it’s overshadowed by Max and Ruby’s antics and Wells’ expressive illustrations that perfectly capture their realistic sibling relationships. 2006, Viking, 32p, $15.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 2 to 4. Starred Review. C 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. (PUBLISHER: Viking (New York, N.Y.:), PUBLISHED: c2006)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews make note of the highlighting of each letter in the text and how it is nicely assimilated. I have to agree when each says that the displaying of the bolded letter in the colorful illustrated pages are perfect and not overdone. The illustrations do embrace a warm brother-sister family style.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The author bolds the beginning of each word that begins with the respective letter throughout the book. This makes it easier to show kids to recognize the alphabet and show them words that begin with them as well! The author also includes valid illustrations to match the text, showing both text and picture form.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I would use this to expose students to words that begin with their respective letters as we learn the alphabet. This book is also great because it comprises of a child-friendly, engaging plot, so I could use it for comprehension questions. I could ask for kids to recount how Max and Ruby tried to get the ants off of Max, and where the ants came from originally.

[Bryant Schumacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosemary Wells’ Max series returns, along with his merry band of bunnies, to explore the ABC’s in this children’s reader. Each spread lists a letter while following Max’s story of his ant farm gone wild. This is a very straight forward ABC book that does not deviate from the formula.

Wells’ illustrations tend to be quite flat, and generally void of textural or pattern elements. Figures are typically framed in square vignettes and the compositions generally appear similar to one another. This is good for repetition and shape recognition, but not exactly thrilling in any artistic sense. Wells’ style could be comparable to a Sunday morning PBS cartoon of some sort. Again, not enthralling, but effective nonetheless. With a potential sacrifice to continuity, Wells’ could have varied the compositions a bit, but this wouldn’t be of much bother to children ages 0-3. After all, the purpose of this book is to simply help children learn their ABC's, right? And in that regard, it succeeds with simplicity. Just don’t let this book land into the hands of a pedantic critic…….

Rosemary Wells’ “Max’s ABC” should apply in most kindergarten classrooms as a early stepping stone to basic letter recognition. Target audience: infant to three years and up.

[Karina Arroyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the book was an okay book. The book utilized the alphabet to tell a story about how some ants continually bothered Max. I found it fun and interesting how the author managed to create a story using the alphabet letters in the correct order. I’m not sure if i would recommend this book for children who are trying to learn the alphabet as this book seems to be at a higher level. However, i would recommend this book for parents or teachers who are trying to teach the alphabet to children. I noticed that the ABC books are very colorful and have interesting pictures as well as put an emphasis on the letter they are talking about. The ABC books are beginner level so they do not consist of dramatically hard sentences. Overall, I thought the book introduced a new tool to me, the tool being that you can present the alphabet through a story. It also gave me the idea that I could utilize objects as well as a song.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because I recognized the author's name. I really enjoyed and appreciated the well-developed storyline.

The downside for me is it might be a better bedtime story for a more intimate setting with a parent and a child, rather than for a school setting because if the alphabet is being taught, it's not very obvious which letter is being introduced without looking at the pages. And typically, stories read in class are not with large enough text for ALL the children to see. It would be inefficient time-wise to stop on every page to point out the word with the letter being taught (the story would be lost).

Does that mean it cannot be used in schools? CERTAINLY NOT!

It was a playful story about the annoyance of ants, and was realistic. If not anything else, it will spark conversation among children about the times they were bitten by ants! Social growth is very valuable, and any book that can do that can be used almost anywhere.

[Amaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Max’s ABC
Author: Rosemary Wells
Date of Publication: 2006
Genre: Fiction/Picture Book
Annotations: This book the rabbits, Max and his sister Ruby, have a problem with ants. The story tells how they solve the problem highlighting the words beginning with each letter of the alphabet from A-Z throughout the tale.

This is a good book to expose children to the alphabet and new words, or at least words they recognize that begin with letters of the alphabet. It’s a very easy read with a letter of the alphabet on each page along with a picture of what the text is describing. The beginning of the word beginning with that letter of the alphabet is in bold.

Discussion and Comprehension Questions for children:
Where did the ants come from?
What were the ants looking for?
What were some things Max and Ruby did to get the ants off of Max?
How did Max and Ruby get the ants back home?
Do you notice something in common about the pages of the book?

[Jasmyn H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wells, R. (2006). Max's ABC. New York: Penguin Group.

Horn Book Magazine Review

Alphabet

In this book, Max's ants escape from their ant farm and he and Ruby do everything they can think of to catch the ants and put them back into the farm. I liked this book because it was an alphabet book that had a story line. Instead of just one word to represent each letter of the alphabet, each letter had a couple of sentences with one or more words that started with particular letter and those words were highlighted. I liked the illustrations because they depicted the letter of the alphabet very well. I would use this book in a pre-kindergarten or kindergarten classroom when students are learning the alphabet.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about this book was how it told a story by using the alphabet. Max's ants escaped from their ant farm and went crawling up Max's pants because he spilt juice on his pants. We then learn about the journey he went on to get the ants out of his pants. I think the story is really silly so children would definitely think it was cute and funny especially since it used a familiar character they all know. One thing I didn't like was how the alphabet wasn't at all stressed. The letters were just written in a larger font. I think because it is an "ABC" book, the alphabet needs to be the most important part.

[Jessi G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosemary Well's "Max's ABC" is a fun book that captures the reader's imagination through creatively depicting the ABC's. Wells skillfully transitions from one "letter" to the next, stringing them together into a storyline with two rabbits: Max and Ruby. Their adventures with ants are taken to the ABC level and Well integrates the "letter of the page" with the storyline. Each "letter of the page" is colorfully printed in the upper corner of the page; in addition, each letter (within the storyline) is bolded in the text. This book is a great read aloud for children and is accompanied by vivid illustrations.

[Shante' Polite]

Title: Max's ABC
Author: Rosemary Wells
Publisher and Date: Puffin Books, 2008

When Max’s ants escape from the farm, they begin searching for food. The ants start with Max’s sandwich, and soon they’re everywhere! Fortunately, Ruby comes to the rescue and gets the better of those ants. This book teaches the alphabet by featuring a different letter on each page, large and colorful so they’re easy to see.

Activity: . I would use it to teach my students the alphabet by making individual letters and allow the students to practice saying the name of the letter while the teacher holds each letter up to the class.

[Mackenzie Wilson]

For one of my primary book's, I chose to read Max's ABC's! This book is about a bunny rabbit whose name is Max, and his adventure through things that follow the alphebet. First he encounters ants, because it starts with an A, then the ants bite him, because it starts with a B. This continues throughout the entire book, until you reach Z at the end of the alphabet. I would recommend this book for a class of preschoolers or kindergardeners who are trying to become more familiar with the alphabet.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: Max is in trouble. The Ants are taking Bites of his sandwich and drinking his Cranberry juice. Children will enjoy learning the alphabet with Max and Ruby in this charming concept book.

The story line seems a little contrived just to make sure all of the letters of the alphabet are incorporated in order. Would be okay to use with story time but not my first choice.

Could sing with the Ants Go Marching.

Themes: ABCs, ants

[Terry Gonzalez]

This book teaches the alphabet through a fun story about Max, Ruby, and some unwanted ants. The story is cute and the illustrations are bold. Each page has a big letter and throughout the text, the letter is in bold, helping children identify them. The illustrations are colorful and are centered in a square border in the middle of each page, but some link to each other. This book should be read to students in kindergarten and first grade to help enforce the alphabet in a lively manner.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun way of mixing and highlighting the alphabet into a simple story with Max and Ruby two bunnies. Max (as always) is into mischief and his sister is right along with him trying to get him out of trouble. Ms Wells takes a line per page and incorporates the alphabet into telling a very simple story of Max and his ants. This story doesn't make Max as naughty as some of them do and it doesn't make Ruby as bossy as some of the others either.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the coolest alphabet books ever - it doesn't struggle to fit in those difficult letters, and each letter is seamlessly made into part of the story.
Max's Ants escaped from their Ant farm. They went looking for Max's birthday cake.
Up Max's patns they climbed. B ite Bite Bite went the ants on the Birthday cake.

[Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every page of the book has a huge colorful letter of the alphabet with the words on the page in bold that start with that letter of the alphabet starting with A-Z. As a result, for kindergarten children, I would use this book in the classroom to help children identify words that starts with the letters of the alphabet.

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A subtle alphabet book. The words are blended into the story with the focus letter bolded at the start of the words. It stands alone as a Max and Ruby story featuring things you see in many of their stories, such as ants and jam. I found the ants the most entertaining part, especially when they kicked their feet in the bath and turned purple and pink.

[Sung Baick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally don't like lengthy ABC books because the really young kids are the ones who are supposed to be learning their ABC's. If the books are too long, they may not enjoy it or read through the whole thing. It is quite lengthy but I do like how the book emphasizes the letters on each page. It'll still be nice to include it in the classroom for kindergarten.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Max's Birthday and his ants have escaped from their farm. They start with the cake and continue to snack and make Max crazy. Eventually Ruby comes to his rescue. Each page features a different letter of the alphabet and I think this is a fun alphabet book. I like that a happy ending is worked out for all parties (including the ants).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I get really worried with ABC books, because what are they going to do with the awkward letters at the end? And usually I just feel like they do awkward things with them. The format of this book lent itself better to those end letters, which was nice, but the flow of the book seemed a little off to me. I think it could have had a better rhythm.

[Kaitlyn Tankersley]

When Max’s ants escape from the farm, they begin searching for food. The ants start with Max’s sandwich, and soon they’re everywhere! Fortunately, Ruby comes to the rescue and gets the better of those ants. This book teaches the alphabet by featuring a different letter on each page, large and colorful so they’re easy to see. I would use it to teach my students the alphabet.