P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet

Discover Canada Province by Province

by Janet Skirving

P is for Puffin tours children through the diverse culture and heritage of Canadas youngest province, Newfoundland and Labrador. Young readers will learn about Jelly Bean Row, Quidi Vidi Battery, the Newfoundland time zone, and the 22 varieties of whales that call the Atlantic coast home.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

With P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet, yes, I have definitely and for the most part found Janet Skirving provincial trivia educational, enlightening (and generally engagingly enough presented in the format of an abecedarian, with poetic verses as well as supplemental details in expanded prose on said verses and for every letter of the alphabet, from A to Z, from accordion music in Newfoundland to time zone, to the fact that Newfoundland time is half an hour ahead of Atlantic time) and have also and equally found Odell Archibald's accompanying artwork aesthetically, visually pleasant, even if at times rather one dimensional and unemotional.

However and my general appreciation of P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet notwithstanding, I am if truth be told also feeling more than a trifle jaded and worn out with reading, since indeed, I have definitely had my share of Canadian provincial alphabet books now and am certainly feeling both over-satiated and glad to be finally finished with the Discover Canada Province by Province series, and definitely with my rather worn out and lackadaisical feelings regarding P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet not only manifesting themselves because ALL of the Discover Canada Province by Province books have that personally and academically annoying lack of an included bibliography with suggestions for further reading and research (and which in P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet I do certainly and in particular miss on an intellectual level, as I simply do not really believe that St. John's Newfoundland is in fact the oldest city in North America, and indeed would therefore like to check and verify or perhaps discount Janet Skirving's sources with regard to this statement) but also because Janet Skivring's poetry in P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet for too many of the letter sections of Newfoundland/Labrador trivia and details seems to present and show end rhymes that I for one do have to consider as reading like they are somewhat forced and artificial (read not all that natural and as such not all that truly lyrical either). And therefore, only a two and a half star ranking for P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet, but rounded up to a very low three stars, as indeed, part of my ennui is simply but certainly that P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet has just been too too much of the same old, same old (and I do not really want to punish either Janet Skirving's or Odell Archibald for having had the bad luck that their Newfoundland and Labrador alphabet book was the last on my list to read and kind of to a point simply fizzled out so to speak because all of the Discover Canada Province by Province picture books basically have the same format and that this does indeed start to get a bit tedious after a while).

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and very informative.

[Tracy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for beginner alphabet learners focusing on aspects familiarly found on the East Coast of our country. Wonderful imagery.