Kathy Ganske
This photo ABC book depicts the antics of a small brown cat, nicknamed Peanut. It highlights alphabetic letters with short lines of rhyming and near-rhyming text. It also encourages vocabulary development through the integration of sophisticated words, the meanings of which can be understood through the combination of text and photos. The result is a book that can be enjoyed both visually and as a learning experience. An example of the text for the letter O follows: 'O is for observing; Peanut keeps an eye on her view. She heard a noise so watches closely for some sort of clue.'There are additional pages at the end of the book for parents, teachers, and others to interact further with children. These include an alphabet activity page and a More to Know section that presents facts and information about cats for each of the alphabetic letters. For instance,'N n. Cats’ noses are similar in color to their fur. The nose skin is called ’nose leather’; each cat has a unique nose print (the bumps and ridges) much like people have unique fingerprints. A cat’s nose is its most important sense organ. It contains 200 million sense receptors to help the cat locate prey, recognize edible food, return home, and know where its human has been.'Listeners and readers will fall in love with this feline, who adores roses and cozy places, is adventurous and athletic, and has even been caught typing! Interest range: Ages 4-9.
