The alphabet thief

The Alphabet Thief was daring and smart. So begins this whimsical rhyming book about a stealthy bandit who steals letter after letter, from A to Z. All over the world her crime spree causes havoc, as she turns boats into bots, bowls into owls, a chair into hair. It's up to the young, ponytailed, and bespectacled narrator to save the day just before the Alphabet Thief absconds with the Y's and Z's. This slim book features one letter per page with occasional breaks to lament the unstoppable robber. The editorial-cartoonlike ink-and-watercolor illustrations provide visual context and humor. The presence of sophisticated vocabulary and concepts fishermen's pikes that turn into pies, a pirate that becomes irate, a quark that becomes an ark make this a book for sharing, rather than independent reading. Occasionally the confining rhyme scheme seems forced, and purloined letters inexplicably reappear, but overall the text will inspire a passion for humorous wordplay. A similar conceit appears in Michaël Escoffier's Take Away the A (2014), which will pair well for the younger set.--Seto Forrester, Amy Copyright 2017 Booklist

Richardson and Bikadoroff reveal just how important letters are as the eponymous Alphabet Thief-who looks one part witch, one part rogue musketeer-goes on a crime spree, stealing one letter at a time. The result: madcap linguistic chaos, which Richardson describes with glee in rhymes that never take a false step: "The Alphabet Thief stole all of the I's./ The maid was made mad in a glance./ And artists at easels would rather have measles./ Than find that their paints were now pants." Bikadoroff's airy ink-and-watercolor portraits are just as much fun, and the book's small trim size and big sense of fun make it a smart pick for language lovers of any age. Ages 5-9. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

K-Gr 2-The Alphabet Thief steals each letter of the alphabet, creating linguistic chaos. Can she be stopped? Not until she steals A's through Z's in the most predictable order. This clever story shows readers the result of verbal irony in its images again and again. Playful illustrations provide concrete examples, portraying baths as bats, poets as pets, horses as hoses, squashes as sashes, and many other silly transmutations. As a read-aloud, this rhyming tale is bound to lead to creative conversation about the textual and illustrative depictions of odd things left in odd situations as letters disappear from their words. Readers may be tempted to try their own letter thieving, dropping letters from words to make other recognizable words. VERDICT Sure to delight wordsmiths of all ages. A fun read-aloud that lends itself to curricular application.-Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

"The Alphabet Thief was daring and smart." So begins this whimsical rhyming book about a stealthy bandit who steals letter after letter, from A to Z. All over the world her crime spree causes havoc, as she turns boats into bots, bowls into owls, a chair into hair. It's up to the young, ponytailed, and bespectacled narrator to save the day just before the Alphabet Thief absconds with the Y's and Z's. This slim book features one letter per page with occasional breaks to lament the unstoppable robber. The editorial-cartoonlike ink-and-watercolor illustrations provide visual context and humor. The presence of sophisticated vocabulary and concepts—fishermen's pikes that turn into pies, a pirate that becomes irate, a quark that becomes an ark—make this a book for sharing, rather than independent reading. Occasionally the confining rhyme scheme seems forced, and purloined letters inexplicably reappear, but overall the text will inspire a passion for humorous wordplay. A similar conceit appears in Michaël Escoffier's Take Away the A (2014), which will pair well for the younger set. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Richardson and Bikadoroff reveal just how important letters are as the eponymous Alphabet Thief—who looks one part witch, one part rogue musketeer—goes on a crime spree, stealing one letter at a time. The result: madcap linguistic chaos, which Richardson describes with glee in rhymes that never take a false step: "The Alphabet Thief stole all of the I's./ The maid was made mad in a glance./ And artists at easels would rather have measles./ Than find that their paints were now pants." Bikadoroff's airy ink-and-watercolor portraits are just as much fun, and the book's small trim size and big sense of fun make it a smart pick for language lovers of any age. Ages 5–9. (Mar.)

K-Gr 2—The Alphabet Thief steals each letter of the alphabet, creating linguistic chaos. Can she be stopped? Not until she steals A's through Z's in the most predictable order. This clever story shows readers the result of verbal irony in its images again and again. Playful illustrations provide concrete examples, portraying baths as bats, poets as pets, horses as hoses, squashes as sashes, and many other silly transmutations. As a read-aloud, this rhyming tale is bound to lead to creative conversation about the textual and illustrative depictions of odd things left in odd situations as letters disappear from their words. Readers may be tempted to try their own letter thieving, dropping letters from words to make other recognizable words. VERDICT Sure to delight wordsmiths of all ages. A fun read-aloud that lends itself to curricular application.—Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa