I collect children’s books, I love children’s books and the most interesting part of my collection is called Abecedarian –  a fancy name for Alphabet Books. I love that word. There are some basic cardboard and cloth books that start with A is for Apple and end with Z is for Zebra. They serve their purpose but not mine. For me, a true lover of words, I need more.

Standout Picks in Nana’s Collection

P is for Pterodactyl – the Worst Alphabet Book  Ever by Eva Ray Holder and Chris Carpenter is a brilliant play on words and letters. Also included you will find K is for Knight and T is for Tsunami.This book shows “all the letters that misbehave.”  The Handmade Alphabet by Laura Rankin (once a staff artist at the Buffalo News) shows each letter in American Sign Language (ASL). It is a beautiful book for those with hearing impairments 0r those who just love good art.

Nana’s Unusual Finds

 An unusual book in my collection is A is for Bee; An alphabet book in translation  written by Ellen Heck with pictures by Maria Tina Beddin. An example of how this reads- Bee is amū in Igbo, Aamoo in Ojibwa, Abelha in Portuguese and are in Turkish. This book is a delight for lovers of words, lovers of world culture or lovers of weird useless information.

Fun Reads, But Not for Class

These are not books I read to my students because I am working on fluency with them though I sometimes bring them in just for fun. In future columns, I will write about books I do read to them, books they read to me and how none of them liked my favorite children’s book read to us in 2nd grade by our teacher, Mrs. Collard at Lindbergh School in Kenmore New York. Mr. Popper’s Penguins!

Nana Sharing the Gift of Reading

          As I mentioned in my first column, my son Jay owns Global Vending Group who sponsors this website. As he is vending books to the students I hope I am vending to my students the gift of being able to read those books.