Eating the Alphabet

My 3.5 year old daughter loves this book and I love hearing her cute little voice be able to identify "Avocado" and "Artichoke" etc. My plan this summer when both kids are home from school is to pick a new food from each letter and introduce it to the kids each week, using the book as the excitement to try something new. Would recommend for ages 2-4.

Eating the Alphabet is a deliciously simple artistic presentation of many fruits and vegetables, organized by the letters of the alphabet. Each fruit or vegetable is depicted in watercolor collage that is somewhat reminiscent of Eric Carle's style. The alphabet format combined with artistic constraints make for some interesting food choices: ugli fruit, jicama, and xigua are some less-familiar choices, presented right along with apples, bananas, and potatoes. Although toddlers tend to gravitate toward realistic pictures, the bright colors and appealing presentation will endear this book to them. For older readers, a glossary of foods provides a bit more information about the different foods presented.

The text is limited to the names of different foods (given in both capitals and lowercase letters), making it a slower read-aloud than most preschool books. Although vocabulary-based books are usually quite dull for adults to read, the unusual medium, the inclusion of exotic foods, and alphabet format make this an attractive read-aloud with some educational value.

Although the book may appeal best to toddlers, I recommend the paperback or hardback version, since the glossary is not included in the board book version.

This is such a great book. We're on our second copy because my kids loved their first copy beyond repair. If you want to hear your 15 month old name all the veggies at the farmer's market, this is the book for you

I purchased this at the reccomendation of a friend and I'm so glad I did. We loved going through the book and talking about all the fruits and vegetables we love and the ones we want to try.

We plan to go through the book from A to Z and try all the vegetables and fruit we haven't tried yet!

This has been a great book for all of the little people who have been in my world. It is an excellent teaching tool for learning the alphabet as well as the names of fruits and vegetables. The pictures are very colorful and eye-catching. It is just a fun book to read with a young audience. I recommend this book for every elementary school library collection and especially for pre-school collections.

This board book is simple yet beautiful. Each page is full of bright vibrant photos of fruits and vegetables. A great tool for teaching the alphabet to a young child. It makes learning fun. It is wonderful because it teaches the abc's using upper and lower case letters. Overall I love this book.

Wonderful approach to phonemic awareness through the beginning sounds of fruits and vegetables. Then you can sample some of the fruits and vegetables in this book if you buy them from the grocery store. Such as m for mango, k for kiwi fruit etc. The illustrations are large and colorful and look like watercolor - very vibrant and appealing. Love this book!

The paintings are absolutely beautiful. I always found it a respite from cartoony children’s illustrations when I desperately needed something softer and more complex to enjoy. Older children who are into art will probably appreciate the paperback version because the pictures are bigger and easier to study.

So cute! Love this for toddler gifts because it revolves around whole natural foods...no cupcakes or christmas cookie here! And Lois Ehlert has been a favorite since my youngest child read her books. Bright happy pictures.

My 2 year old daughter really loves me reading books for her. So I bought this one recently to get her educated on fruits and veggies. Within just a few reading sessions, she learnt all their names by heart. Simultaneously I also show her real fruits and veggies I have handy at that point of time. This boosts her understanding. Believe me she has shown interest in eating many vegetables since then some of which she may not have liked but she happened to like broccoli and eggplant.
The only reason I gave it a four star is that some of the pictures are unclear in depiction. For example, pear is most commonly green and becomes yellow only when it's overripe. Also cabbage and cauliflower could have looked a bit more realistic. Otherwise it's a good book.

These are the illustrations you want in a children's book. If you (or your kid) have a love for farmer's markets or eating or gardening get this book!! I bought the board book and plan to re-purchase the larger sized edition. I'm not sure the alphabet part is resonating with my 20mo, but the food does! He loves to point and identify the foods!!! I'm sure he likes the color feast on each page too.

We have borrowed this book so many times from the library, we're finally buying it! The paintings are beautiful, and our son absolutely loves it. He became fascinated with all of the different foods he'd never tried. For a few months now, we've been making trips to the local market and our grocery store looking for the more exotic foods from the book so we can take them home and try them. Our 2-year-old, who would never eat anything but hamburger before, has now tried jicama, star fruit, cabbage, brussels sprouts, radishes, eggplant, rhubarb, beets, and zucchini. Worth much more than the price of the book!

We found this book at the library and I'm buying my own copy. It is colorful, has the alphabet in capital and lower case letters, AND they managed to find a fruit or veggie to go with every letter! There is also a section on the pronunciation and a little history of each fruit/vegetable in the back of the book (library edition).
My boys are 3 yrs old and have been coming to the grocery store with me since birth. However, they are also starting to become picky eaters. I plan to take this book to the grocery store and we can learn alphabet letters and find the produce items to match. Maybe I can even expand their taste preferences as we try a new "letter" each visit. Now if they just had a little cookbook to go with this book.....

We received this book from our daughter's pediatrician when our daughter turned 3. A year and a half later moved and somehow it got lost. I had to buy another one to replace it because we loved it so much. This is a great way to build vocabulary but also awareness of fruits and vegetables. Our daughter has tried foods that I'd never even heard of before reading this book. LOVE IT!!

This vocabulary book goes through the alphabet and gives examples of fruits and vegetables that begin with said letter. No candy, sweets, meats, or any animal products in this one (guess they did not want to offend any dietary restrictions).

Each letter of the alphabet has at least one healthy example of food. Each food has a colorful illustration but readers may need help attaching each word to the appropriate picture. Some of the illustrations are a little questionable (I never saw a cauliflower like the one pictured).

Both of my kids enjoy this book and have had me read it a number of times on just the first day. I haven't noticed them wanting to eat any more vegetables than before but their vocabulary is better.

This is such a great book! It is very colorful and the illustrations are pretty. I'm excited to read this with my 2 year old daughter so that she can learn the names of fruits and vegetables! I recommend.

My little one loves this book! We take it to the farmer's market and grocery store sometimes so she can flip through while we are in the produce section. I love that it focuses on healthy foods and some that we have never even heard of! It is a must have for your child's bookshelf!

I have a picky eater so I bought this book hoping to create an interest in new and healthy foods. It has done that and much more. With all of the characters out there it is refreshing to reinforce alphabet lessons with non-animated items that appear in real life. Plus, it is hysterical to hear a toddler repeat words like "radiccio." This is a great book and a superb idea.

Everywhere we turn we find Lois Ehlert books. From our local library to our boys' school book bag, Lois' books keep popping up. As I write this, our twin 4 year old boys are downstairs with their daddy getting ready for sleep while they guess away with enthusiasm at the contents of Eating for Alphabet book, all fruits and veggies. The illustrations are wonderful; the large type is perfect for children who are learning their letters and words. What is best about several of this inspired writer's books is the focus on growing the foods we eat and imparting that to our kids. Our boys' first choice is Lois' Vegetable Soup book. Eating the Alphabet is a close second. In this crazy, over-processed world, all of Lois' books are fun, inspired and offer the gift of a much easier and simple-pleasure world for our children to enjoy and cherish.

As food is essential for life, this book is essential in introducing our young children to many of the wide variety of fruits and vegetables that are available to us, while we teach them the alphabet.
Not only must you read this beautiful book with your kids, but also use it to experience the tastes and textures of as many of the fruits and vegetables as you can, introducing them to many that they may otherwise not experience. Make it fun and combine two important aspects of life from an early age. I 'used' this book on my two kids nearly 20 years ago and they are not only literate, but eat a balanced and healthy diet which I attribute largely to Eating the Alphabet.
Thankyou Ms Ehlert

This book was a terrific find and our first introduction to the world of Lois Ehlert's illustrations. She beautifully illustrates fruits and vegetables as the alphabet marches forward. I began reading the oversized boardbook version to my baby son when he could only enjoy the visual play...then I used it to help introduce new fruits and vegetables into his diet and now we use the words for practicing new syllables, and building vocabulary. In contrast to others, I love that the fruits and veggies are a less realistic, a little abstract or stylized. I get to point out the real ones in contrast and he begins to use his imagination to associate the two. He happily brings it to me to read or to point out whatever new word he wants to learn. Babies and children have preferences just like adults. I wouldn't judge a book because my son wasn't interested...it could become his favourite in another month or it might not. I do know that through this book and my son's enjoyment of it, I have been interested in more of Elhert's books and building our library for when his interests expand since she has demonstrated such a delightful way of exploring a subject.

Who Grew My Soup?If you like this book, check out "Who Grew My Soup" about a boy who hatches a scheme to avoid eating his vegetables, but ends up on a madcap adventure to learn where food comes from. Chosen by the Agriculture Department for its "Agriculture in the classroom" program. Awesome illustrations by the famous C. F. Payne.

I got this book mainly because I wanted a very visual yet simple 'alphabet' themed book. It certainly hit the mark. The beautiful, minimalist watercolour artwork really captures the various fruits' and vegetables' colours and textures. My toddler has been enjoying it for many months now, at first for the large, colourful images but now for learning the actual words. We've recently started a little activity where we try recognizing and buying each fruit/veggie from the book at the grocery store. I am looking forward to getting more books from this author and wonderful artist.

We checked this book out from the library for our two year old and she couldn't get enough of it. So I bought it here and it is still one of her favorite books. Which letter of the alphabet begins the most fruits and vegetables? You know you want to know :) Great way to combine ABCs and healthy food! The illustrations are what make this book fantastic.

After reading this book to my preschoolers, I wished the illustrations had been photographs. We were talking about vegetables and I wanted to introduce and get the kids excited about new produce. They lost interest before we were half way through. I think real pictures of kids actually eating the fruits and vegetables would have proven to be more stimulating.

This book gave me the idea of calling fruits and vegetables "pretty food" to my grandchildren. It is full of beautiful art, and we pretend to choose our favorites and eat them. My 3 and 4 year old like this really well, and it is a sturdy little beautiful book.

This book has amazing illustrations and makes you want to go out to the grocery store and buy some fruits and vegetables! Another book I found to be helpful with children and learning fruits and vegetables is A-Z Poetry: Fruits and Veggies

The illustration is very sophisticated yet appears to be very attractive for toddlers.
Toddlers love fruits and vegetables, so it seems my daughter is having good time learning all the names of foods in this book.
Art is so beautiful, so it's pleasant for adults to read this too.

Maybe it's a little too long? Maybe the text (like many books of this genre, it just lists the words, nothing else) isn't captivating enough? Perhaps it's the illustrations? I just don't know.

I do like that there's a guide in the back explaining the history of every bit of produce listed in this book (this book only mentions plant foods, so it's great for veg*ns), with a pronunciation guide.

Just wish the girls liked it as much as I do. I knocked off a star for that.

This is a wonderful book, but please be aware that this particular edition is HUGE! It's one of those oversize books that a teacher might use in the classroom so that the whole class can read the words. Check the dimensions - you might to purchase a smaller size.

Cute book. Love the watercolor-esque pictures, but they're a little bit ethereal for actually teaching vegetables to little kiddos. Additionally, it's not a good source for teaching alphabet sounds since quite a handful of the vegetables chosen don't actually start with the sound the letter makes (for example J - jicama.)

My kids love this book. It's very bright and colourful and a great way to learn the ABCs, through vegetables and fruits! The art is great too! Overall a nice fun book for babies and toddlers, especially when they are starting to show interests with the alphabets.

This book is colorful , large print,but it is for a child. It had nothing to do with the cooking ,or real names of the veggies, or fruit from around the world. I would not get this for kitchen use, put it in child play room.

My son will read just about anything. He devours books. But not this book. This is probably the only book on our bookshelf that has never requested we look at or read. This book has no text, just watercolor paintings of the fruits and veggies. But the images are not all that easy to differeniate from one another. If, like an infant, you had not yet experienced this produce, I think that you would be unlikely to link the pictures in the book with the real thing in the grocery store or garden. I was disappointed with this book, as is my son, apparently.

This is a very fun read. I've given it in new baby gifts to several friends and they all commented on liking the bright colors and the reminders of things they haven't eaten in years or may have never eaten before.

As some reviewers have said, some of the pictures are a little vague or don't look quite like the fruit or vegetable it portrays. For the most part, a vast majority of the drawings are recognizable. My 13 month old son loves to flip through this on his own, and now that he's learning to identify different foods, we are able to use it more to engage with. We also talk about which food we have available in our home at the time. It's a cute alphabet book.

I'm adopting a little man who is a very picky eater. My husband I hope this will help him see how cool fruits and vegetables are. The pictures are amazing and he loves to say his ABCs. I would recommend all kiddos have this cool little book. We are putting it in his Easter basket.

Our 18 month old points to each item and names them. This was a great idea to connect the alphabet to food names. A child gets to see and want to try something new...... not just the standard "A is for Apple" ...you also get artichoke, avocado and asparagus! Every letter is shown in upper and lower cases....and each letter has MORE than ONE word with the letter. Durable board book that gets used and enjoyed a lot!

Has great colors and pictures. My baby isn’t interested in it yet but perhaps because she’s still too young at only 6 months old. I’m sure she will enjoy it soon. It’s also great to have a book about fruits and veggies to make them recognizable when she eats them!