P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever

P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever. Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter. Illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia. 2018. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: A is for Aisle. The bread aisle has not been cleaned in aeons, and nine tiny beasts meet to have a feast.

Premise/plot: This book is not your traditional alphabet book. It is choosing to highlight words that "misbehave" in one way or another. Usually misbehaving words start with silent letters or break phonic rules in some way. Some letters are trickier to find examples for than others. Some choices make total sense--others not so much. There is a glossary and word pronunciation guide at the back of the book.

More examples:

• C is for Czar. Shhh! The fascinating czar is secretly part Czech.
• E is for Ewe. Eileen the ewe was so euphoric the wolves were eaten, she even gave the eulogy.
• G is for Gnocchi. The gnome yells, "Waiter! There's a bright white gnat nibbling on my gnocchi!"
• I is not for Eye. We asked the pirate if he has two eyes, and he said, "aye, aye!"
• K is for Knight. The noble knight's knife nicked the knave's knee.
• N is not for Knot. N is for naughty children who will sing a solemn hymn when autumn comes to an end. 
• P is for Pterodactyl. Ptolemy the psychic pterodactyl struggles with psoriasis. 
• T is for Tsunami. The charging tsunami washed away all of Tchaikovsky's tchotchkes. 

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I did. Granted, I am an adult. I'm not sure this is a picture book for actual children. As in children who are just beginning to read and sound out words. I'm not sure how it would work as a read aloud for a group. Perhaps it has some potential there! If you are planning to read it aloud, I'd recommend practice. (It's always a great idea to pre-read a book before reading it aloud anyway.)

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews