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A, My Name Is Alice
A variety of animals parade by in this familiar jumprope alphabet song.
The antics never quite quit as a parade of animals sell their wares in this wildly illustrated version of the familiar alphabet ditty and ball-bouncing game. Young readers will delight in meeting such characters as Barbara, the bear with balloons for sale in Brazil; New York Ned, the newt who owns a noodle emporium, and finally the zipper-selling Zambian zebra and zebu, Zelda and Zach.
The antics never quite quit as a parade of animals sell their wares in this wildly illustrated version of the familiar alphabet ditty and ball-bouncing game. Young readers will delight in meeting such characters as Barbara, the bear with balloons for sale in Brazil; New York Ned, the newt who owns a noodle emporium, and finally the zipper-selling Zambian zebra and zebu, Zelda and Zach.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
7 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
April 10, 2022
Great pictures and word play. Share it every year with my class.
March 20, 2025
*OUR FAVORITE ALPHABET BOOK!*
I'm not sure I can count the number of times my kids have picked out this picture book for me to read - it is definitely our most favorite alphabet book. Steven Kellogg's illustrations are just so humorous and detailed, my kids can look at them for HOURS. Not to mention, each page has (usually) two different animals highlighted, and quite a few of them are extremely uncommon (at least to me), which has enabled us to talk about various animal groups, birds of prey, and even watch some youtube videos about animals I knew nothing about. The text is almost identical on every page, introducing an animal couple with their names, where they come from (rhetorically), what they sell, and ending with what they actually are. It has good rhythm and I found can be read in almost a sing-song way. On the final page I do sing the alphabet song while pointing to all the letters one at a time again. Not sure if it really helps with letter recognition, but it's an enjoyable read.
I'm not sure I can count the number of times my kids have picked out this picture book for me to read - it is definitely our most favorite alphabet book. Steven Kellogg's illustrations are just so humorous and detailed, my kids can look at them for HOURS. Not to mention, each page has (usually) two different animals highlighted, and quite a few of them are extremely uncommon (at least to me), which has enabled us to talk about various animal groups, birds of prey, and even watch some youtube videos about animals I knew nothing about. The text is almost identical on every page, introducing an animal couple with their names, where they come from (rhetorically), what they sell, and ending with what they actually are. It has good rhythm and I found can be read in almost a sing-song way. On the final page I do sing the alphabet song while pointing to all the letters one at a time again. Not sure if it really helps with letter recognition, but it's an enjoyable read.
June 2, 2022
So I guess we are starting on letters now lol
My little two year old is so smart. He's conquered colors and shapes. He can count to 10+. So we are moving on to letters.
He absolutely loves to learn and loves to read books with mommy AND daddy.
I can't believe he can already recognize the letter 'O'. I feel like every time I blink my eyes he's on to something new!
Anyways, Oliver loves this book specifically. He LOVES animals and can identify every typical toddler animal so he likes learning the more unusual animals in "A, My Name Is Alice". It's also fun for mommy to read in a sing song voice. I need to look up how to say some of the animal names because I'm probably mispronouncing them!
My little two year old is so smart. He's conquered colors and shapes. He can count to 10+. So we are moving on to letters.
He absolutely loves to learn and loves to read books with mommy AND daddy.
I can't believe he can already recognize the letter 'O'. I feel like every time I blink my eyes he's on to something new!
Anyways, Oliver loves this book specifically. He LOVES animals and can identify every typical toddler animal so he likes learning the more unusual animals in "A, My Name Is Alice". It's also fun for mommy to read in a sing song voice. I need to look up how to say some of the animal names because I'm probably mispronouncing them!
September 1, 2022
I very much enjoyed rereading this book. This book was one of the classic ones that I remember quite fondly from my childhood.. and now, looking back on it, I see why it was so amusing. Each page contains a different letter of the alphabet, with plenty of words, names, and places that all start with that same letter. This is an excellent ways to encourage kids to begin reading; they will be able to start identifying the constant sounds of A, B, C, etc. as they read each page. Similarly, the book also had numerous animals from lots of different locations from all over the world, exposing children to the possibilities of a world outside of their own. This book is definitely one that I would like to include in my own classroom!
March 28, 2022
A fun book to teach children both the alphabet and different pronunciations
Using fun art and a simple word scheme, Jane Bayer teaches children multiple simple English skills in a fun and engaging manner. By using different names, animals, and locations, she teaches not only the alphabet, but how certain letter combinations sound. Steven Kellogg's art adds to this, making every scene come to live in his own unique way
Using fun art and a simple word scheme, Jane Bayer teaches children multiple simple English skills in a fun and engaging manner. By using different names, animals, and locations, she teaches not only the alphabet, but how certain letter combinations sound. Steven Kellogg's art adds to this, making every scene come to live in his own unique way
February 6, 2018
This is a really cute and creative alphabet book that I read aloud to several students in my practicum class. Each page rhymes and introduces each letter, as well as objects and animals that start with that letter. Great book for Kindergartners to help with learning the alphabet.
January 22, 2018
Fun illustrations and text make this alphabet book a pleasure to read.
April 19, 2018
love this book great read
February 19, 2020
The color scheme of the book is all nutral tones. The book is rather long for a pre-k class to be engaged in. The book is great when talking about the alphabet and animals.
February 19, 2020
It's a very colorful way to learn the alphabet
March 9, 2020
Love Stephen Kellogg’s artwork
July 10, 2022
So either all these creatures live in a world where what we would deem as nonsensical is the norm, or this book highlights how easy it is to scam people.
November 9, 2009
We all (or most of us) know this game, whether we played it by bouncing a ball, jumping rope, clapping hands, or even just sitting on the stoop.
The author and illustrator have given this book a decidedly comic touch that I never had when I played this game - here I was, as a kid, like a FOOL searching for something reasonable to sell for "g" - and they have a goose and gorilla selling "giggles", of all things! The whole book tends this way - i has a great picture of the pair trying to sell ice cream to a very doubtful animal in the middle of a snowstorm, the couple for d sells "dust" - and you can see them blowing dust right into another animal's surprised face! It's a riot.
I'm not sure I like the way the individual animals are labeled at the bottom of the page... that text there makes you tempted to read it aloud, and that messes with the flow of the book. I would rather have had the animals listed in the back instead. And I don't like that they just made up a random space critter for an "animal that starts with x" - there are several creatures that have x as their initial, starting with x-ray fish and xeme and ending with xenops and xerus... although, as this was published in 1984, I suppose they weren't able to google it like I did just now! (Tell the truth, I don't like that alphabet books list things-starting-with-the-letter-x, as a general rule. I'd rather they listed things that show x in the way we USUALLY say it, so the x animals would be, like, a fox and a vixen or something.)
However, those details are trivial.
The author and illustrator have given this book a decidedly comic touch that I never had when I played this game - here I was, as a kid, like a FOOL searching for something reasonable to sell for "g" - and they have a goose and gorilla selling "giggles", of all things! The whole book tends this way - i has a great picture of the pair trying to sell ice cream to a very doubtful animal in the middle of a snowstorm, the couple for d sells "dust" - and you can see them blowing dust right into another animal's surprised face! It's a riot.
I'm not sure I like the way the individual animals are labeled at the bottom of the page... that text there makes you tempted to read it aloud, and that messes with the flow of the book. I would rather have had the animals listed in the back instead. And I don't like that they just made up a random space critter for an "animal that starts with x" - there are several creatures that have x as their initial, starting with x-ray fish and xeme and ending with xenops and xerus... although, as this was published in 1984, I suppose they weren't able to google it like I did just now! (Tell the truth, I don't like that alphabet books list things-starting-with-the-letter-x, as a general rule. I'd rather they listed things that show x in the way we USUALLY say it, so the x animals would be, like, a fox and a vixen or something.)
However, those details are trivial.
October 15, 2017
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Recommend Grade Level: Early Primary
This book is such a cute, silly way to learn or review the alphabet, using animals and everyday objects. Although it is geared more for those just learning their alphabet, I can see students up to second grade enjoying it.
Recommend Grade Level: Early Primary
This book is such a cute, silly way to learn or review the alphabet, using animals and everyday objects. Although it is geared more for those just learning their alphabet, I can see students up to second grade enjoying it.
October 14, 2012
This is a perfect alphabet book. The book goes through each letter of the alphabet and introduces married couples who are animals from different countries that begin with the letter. Each animal is different, for instance Alice is an ape and her husband is an anteater. Each animal sells different things. The pictures a really cute and the story is very cute and predictable.
Learning Experience: This would be a great alphabet book. You could do a whole unit on different countries and the different animals who a listed. The are fowl, mammals, reptiles. You could also use this book to show that different things can live together and work together and love each other. If for instance you had a family who had two moms and the children in the class were not familiar with that situation you could use this book to show that it doesn't matter as long as you are happy and you love that person. There are a lot of activities that can be done. The children and start at the beginning of the book and make a chart using the globe of where the animals are from and we could find actual pictures of each animal. There are some very usual animals mentioned so this would be great to get kids interested in learning about geography and animals.
Learning Experience: This would be a great alphabet book. You could do a whole unit on different countries and the different animals who a listed. The are fowl, mammals, reptiles. You could also use this book to show that different things can live together and work together and love each other. If for instance you had a family who had two moms and the children in the class were not familiar with that situation you could use this book to show that it doesn't matter as long as you are happy and you love that person. There are a lot of activities that can be done. The children and start at the beginning of the book and make a chart using the globe of where the animals are from and we could find actual pictures of each animal. There are some very usual animals mentioned so this would be great to get kids interested in learning about geography and animals.
March 20, 2012
This book uses a well-known playground game and turns it into a hilarious romp through the alphabet. Each letter is celebrated by two animals who state their names, where they come from and what they sell. For instance, a hippo and her hamster husband shout out:
“H. My name is Hannah and my husband’s name is Henry. We come from Hawaii and we sell harps.”
The ridiculous situations and characters that spring out of these rhymes are illustrated with Kellogg's signature style full of whimsy and wordplay. Kids will want to spend time examining the illustrations to find the humorous hidden details. The text is repetitious, using the same pattern to describe each scene. In addition, Bayer identifies each animal within the text and also includes a note about “less familiar creatures” in the back of the book. These include the Quahog, Unau, Ibex, and the made-up Xigertling.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
“H. My name is Hannah and my husband’s name is Henry. We come from Hawaii and we sell harps.”
The ridiculous situations and characters that spring out of these rhymes are illustrated with Kellogg's signature style full of whimsy and wordplay. Kids will want to spend time examining the illustrations to find the humorous hidden details. The text is repetitious, using the same pattern to describe each scene. In addition, Bayer identifies each animal within the text and also includes a note about “less familiar creatures” in the back of the book. These include the Quahog, Unau, Ibex, and the made-up Xigertling.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
June 17, 2012
When I saw the cover of this book, my first initial thought was it's just a book showing the ordinary words that we teach children, such as, Alice, ant, cat, dog; well I was very surprised. Not only was it very unusual it had words I was not familiar with, such as, Unau- a two toed tree-inhabitating mammel,and Quahog- a thick shelled American clam, etc. I loved all the different names and countries/states the animals came from. This book teaches the alphabet, but so much more. We can learn about different animals and the places they come from. The illustrations are comical which I feel first and second graders will love. This will be an addition to my collection.
Learning Experience:
To extend this to more than just learning the alphabet, you can do a letter of the week and incorporate the country or state the characters come from. Ex: Letter A,the state in the book was Alaska, learn different things about Alaska,continue and talk about apes and anteaters. So many ways to utilize this book.
Learning Experience:
To extend this to more than just learning the alphabet, you can do a letter of the week and incorporate the country or state the characters come from. Ex: Letter A,the state in the book was Alaska, learn different things about Alaska,continue and talk about apes and anteaters. So many ways to utilize this book.
February 14, 2012
Review: This is a wonderful book to teach children about their abc’s! It uses the same theme “A my name is Alice and my husband’s name is Alex. We come from Alaska and we sell ants. Alice is an APE. Alex is an anteater,” for each letter of the alphabet. Some of the animals in this book are familiar and some are new. The names in this book and locations are different for children. This is a great book to expand the student’s vocabulary.
Learning Experience: A learning experience for this book is to teach the students about different animals and the geographical location that is listed in the book. Another learning experience can be to get the student’s into groups and have each group find each letter of the alphabet in the room. Have the student’s write down what they found in alphabetical order. A – Z
Learning Experience: A learning experience for this book is to teach the students about different animals and the geographical location that is listed in the book. Another learning experience can be to get the student’s into groups and have each group find each letter of the alphabet in the room. Have the student’s write down what they found in alphabetical order. A – Z
July 24, 2012
Like many other alphabet books, this one goes through the alphabet with a picture to represent all of the letters in the alphabet. However, there is one big difference; children and adults alike will enjoy seeing some very unuasual creatures for the very first time. This provides the teacher with an opportunity to introduce many new vocabulary words to the children.
Extension:
The teacher will ask the children how many of the different types of the animals, birds, or fish from the book that they recognize and which ones are new to them, and say the corresponding alphabet letter for each animal. This will lead to an interesting discussion about some of the many different things that we share our earth with. I wonder how many of the children will choose the one from the planet Xigert as their favorite!
Extension:
The teacher will ask the children how many of the different types of the animals, birds, or fish from the book that they recognize and which ones are new to them, and say the corresponding alphabet letter for each animal. This will lead to an interesting discussion about some of the many different things that we share our earth with. I wonder how many of the children will choose the one from the planet Xigert as their favorite!
October 14, 2012
This book is so fun to use in a preschool classroom and uses in a well-known playground game and turns it into a hilarious romp through the alphabet. The children will learn each other classmates names and states. This book is a great resource to give the teacher with an opportunity to introduce many new vocabulary words to the children. It's colorful with different pictures that relates the letter, state, and name as well what they are doing together.
For example: My name is Lucy and my husband's name is Luke.
We cine from London and we sell leaves.
Lucy is Lemming. Luke is Loon
Learning Expereince: Have all the children hold hands in around circle. The children will say their name, re-place with an encourage word and a name of a state. For example: My name is Alice, I lived in a Alaska, I am adorable.
For example: My name is Lucy and my husband's name is Luke.
We cine from London and we sell leaves.
Lucy is Lemming. Luke is Loon
Learning Expereince: Have all the children hold hands in around circle. The children will say their name, re-place with an encourage word and a name of a state. For example: My name is Alice, I lived in a Alaska, I am adorable.
November 28, 2012
This alphabet book is sure to keep any child entertained with all the fun and new animals used throughout the book. The different letters are used to represent different married animal couples who's names start with each letter. The book uses illustrations to show each letter as well as the animals that go along with each.
For children in the classroom bring this book to life to use as a group activity. This game can as well be used during a transition to play with children waiting on others to join. The children can play the game by the first child saying A my name is ( picks a name that starts with A) my friends name is ( another A name) and we like ( something that begins with an A. Ex. Animals, Food, Place or Toy) Children can have fun while using their language skills to make one another laugh with their sometimes silly responses.
For children in the classroom bring this book to life to use as a group activity. This game can as well be used during a transition to play with children waiting on others to join. The children can play the game by the first child saying A my name is ( picks a name that starts with A) my friends name is ( another A name) and we like ( something that begins with an A. Ex. Animals, Food, Place or Toy) Children can have fun while using their language skills to make one another laugh with their sometimes silly responses.
April 6, 2017
Of course we had to use this title to launch our six weeks of story times based on the classic novel Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Here's what we did...
"Let’s play a game with names. We’ll start with Alice. Then have children volunteer to let us play the game with their name. Flip to page in book with child’s first initial and play the game. Adults can help.
Song #1--Lyrics:
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A rafi, a rafi,
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A rafi, a rafi,
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
Roll hands on “A ram sam sam”, Slap legs on “guli guli…”, Throw hands up for “A rafi, a rafi” Reapeat as many times as group wants to play.
"Let’s play a game with names. We’ll start with Alice. Then have children volunteer to let us play the game with their name. Flip to page in book with child’s first initial and play the game. Adults can help.
Song #1--Lyrics:
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A rafi, a rafi,
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
A rafi, a rafi,
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
Roll hands on “A ram sam sam”, Slap legs on “guli guli…”, Throw hands up for “A rafi, a rafi” Reapeat as many times as group wants to play.
April 12, 2013
This book is a great way to keep children entertained while learning the alphabet. I feel putting animals into any story draws children to it. I love the illustrations and the alliteration with each letter of the alphabet.
Activity:
I would have children use the firt letter of their name to come up with a sentence using their name and alliteration. This could help children write their name, learn about alliteration and learn about each other. At the end of this activity I would put children in alphabetical order and have them share their sentence with the class.
Activity:
I would have children use the firt letter of their name to come up with a sentence using their name and alliteration. This could help children write their name, learn about alliteration and learn about each other. At the end of this activity I would put children in alphabetical order and have them share their sentence with the class.
May 29, 2014
This a fun read aloud ABC book. Letters are printed in large obvious print so I feel it is best for letter recognition. The alphabetic vignettes use most words that match the common sound of the letters but sometimes they are words with secondary sounds or digraphs that do not connect to the letters.
It is also good for vocabulary because of the variety of animals in the book many are pretty obscure which adds to the fun. Having real pictures of the animals would compliment the whimsical illustrations.
It is also good for vocabulary because of the variety of animals in the book many are pretty obscure which adds to the fun. Having real pictures of the animals would compliment the whimsical illustrations.
April 14, 2012
This is a great book for teaching the alphabets and site words. I love the way this book uses different types of animals for every letter in the book. This cute book would be great for name recognition as well as naming the places mentioned in this book. Students can use the picture reading to figure out the occupation for each animal couple. In the back of the book is a short dictionary about the less familiar animal named in the book.
June 17, 2012
Book type ;Fable ,Instructional.
The book, “A, My Name Is Alice” is an alphabet book .This is a great book for children to follow along with .The book is filled with names of animals from all over the world. Also it’s filled with alliterations. When a child reads this alphabet book, he or she will use different name for places, things, and animals. Also, it can be used for the teaching of nouns.
November 28, 2012
This was a great book! Even though it is a basic ABC book, it does it in such a creative way using the couples and animals and countries. It is a book that really covers a multitude of domains to use as a teaching aid.
Lesson: As a teacher I could use this book for social studies and matching the countries on the book to where they are on a map, as well as using the animals and placing them in their habitats, or even just using the book to teach basic ABC.
Lesson: As a teacher I could use this book for social studies and matching the countries on the book to where they are on a map, as well as using the animals and placing them in their habitats, or even just using the book to teach basic ABC.
November 22, 2013
Review:
This is a wonderful to get children engaged in the alphabet. It is different that tradition 'A' is for apple books. The illusrataions are colorful. Children would love the excitment in this book.
Learning Experience:
I would have children go around a circle and say their name and something they like with the same beginning letter sound as their name. "Hi my name is Danielle and I like donunts."
This is a wonderful to get children engaged in the alphabet. It is different that tradition 'A' is for apple books. The illusrataions are colorful. Children would love the excitment in this book.
Learning Experience:
I would have children go around a circle and say their name and something they like with the same beginning letter sound as their name. "Hi my name is Danielle and I like donunts."
September 28, 2010
I read this book to my Kindergartners and they were in hysterics. All of the animals names begin with the letter so does their husbands name and they all sell something that also begins with the same letter. It is kind of a quirky ABC book but the combination of animals that are husband and wife along with the pictures had my students laughing up a storm.
October 2, 2010
Year published:1992
Age Level: Grades K-4
This book is adorable and I love the pattern used in this story. I used this book with my Language Arts group to give them a different idea about how to write Alphabet books and pattern books. My students all of a sudden were writing all their own types of alphabet and pattern books and looking up countries all over the world to help them!
Age Level: Grades K-4
This book is adorable and I love the pattern used in this story. I used this book with my Language Arts group to give them a different idea about how to write Alphabet books and pattern books. My students all of a sudden were writing all their own types of alphabet and pattern books and looking up countries all over the world to help them!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews