Review - Anne's Alphabet

Anne's Alphabet
by Kelly Hill
Date: 2019
Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 28
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

A must-have board book for Anne of Green Gables fans, with charming, hand-embroidered illustrations.

Iconic moments from the beloved L.M. Montgomery classic are celebrated in this adorable concept book. Artist Kelly Hill creates vignettes of the most recognizable moments from Anne of Green Gables, including nosy neighbor, freckles, kindred spirits and imagination.

Each letter of the alphabet is brought to life through a memorable Anne scene, with simple text and tactile, gorgeous works of art created from cut fabric and embroidery.

Part of a series of Anne concept books, Anne's Alphabet is a perfect way to introduce future fans to this winning character.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Alphabet books can be tricky in English, especially with certain letters (I'm looking at you, X). This alphabet book is no exception. While it works as an homage to Anne of Green Gables, it's not really a book that should be used for teaching the alphabet. Sticklers for accuracy are probably going to have problems with "E is for Anne-with-an-E", "Q is for Snow Queen", "X is for exhibition", and "Z is for zzzzzz". Yes, all of those things tie into the original story, but since this is a board book, I'm going to assume that the intended audience is too young to know the original story. As such, this is an alphabet book that's more suited to older readers... which is a little odd.

Aside from that, the selection of words and phrases for the other letters is charming. "G is for Gilbert", "K is for kindred spirit", and "P is for puffed sleeves", of course. The embroidered illustrations are just as cute here as they are in Anne's Feelings. I really like the aesthetic of these books.

Overall, this is a decent alphabet book... but it might require some explanation for some of the entries, especially once the child notices that "Anne-with-an-E" does not actually start with the letter E!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tundra Books (NY) for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.67 out of 5