ABCD : An Alphabet Book of Cats and Dogs

by Sheila Moxley

Cats and dogs racing around in rocket ships, wearing weird and wonderful wigs, and mastering magic tricks offer a unique and amusing way to learn the alphabet.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards: None
Grade Levels: Pre-K through 1st
Summary: In ABCD: An Alphabet Book of Cats and Dogs, cats and dogs have names starting with each letter of the alphabet. They each complete activities that start with the same letter of their name. The pictures are of real life cats and dogs, but the activities are drawn on so it looks like they are flying, playing instruments or any one of their activities.
Review: I really enjoyed ABCD: An Alphabet Book of Cats and Dogs. It was the only alphabet book I read that had not only the capitalized letters, but also the lowercase letters which is important when children are learning letter recognition. I thought the pictures of the cats and dogs doing silly things were so cute and funny.
In Class Uses: Classroom Library, Read Aloud, Letter Recognition, each student could bring in a photo of a cat or dog and make their own page of the book.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fine and it would be cool to use as an example and then teach kids computer editing. (Read the author note-- these were all done the old-fashioned way!) But our copy is old and gross, so it will be deleted from our library. I'll check circ stats to see if I need to get a replacement copy or not.

[Sydney Matejik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title (italicize): An Alphabet Book of Cats and Dogs
Author: Sheila Moxley
Illustrator (if separate from author): Sheila Moxley
Genre: Concept book, Alphabet Book
Theme(s): Alphabet, Animals, Hobbies/activities, Alliterations
Opening line/sentence (type directly from text): Arnold is an amazing aviator.
Brief Book Summary (2-3 sentences in your own words):
This book features pictures of cats and dogs engaging in activities all while teaching the alphabet in chronological order. This book is not only an alphabet book, but also has alliterations on every page. The artwork in the book is especially appealing due to real life images and collage work done by the author and illustrator to further develop the alphabet.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1 (cut & paste): Mark Remi (Children's Literature)
This book appeals to the eye while it educates the reader. It illustrates the letters of the alphabet in such a way that a child can effortlessly construct words and sentences using all of the different letters. The author's use of unusual words and sentences for each of these letters seeks to expand the child's vocabulary. Moxley's captions under the cat and dog illustrations not only explain the picture, but are also constructed with alliteration. Sentences like "Arnold is an amazing aviator," for example, allow the reader to connect with the characters. Rather than using the universal phrase, "A for Apple," Moxley adds amazing twists to her sentences that give the book a totally new feel. Also the illustrator of the book, Moxley combines real photos and colorful art in this picture book. She uses no computer-generated images, but instead just uses old-fashioned cut and paste techniques with a little painting to create a collage. The adorable dogs and cats possess human qualities (one holds an umbrella; another ice-skates), which is sure to make readers laugh. The book's brilliantly colored paintings, funny captions, and playful illustrations not only entertain but help the reader learn the letters of the English alphabet. 2001, Little Brown and Company, $14.95. Ages 2 to 4.
(PUBLISHER: Little Brown ;Turnaround ([U.S.]:) (London:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2 (cut & paste): Kristin Harris (Children's Literature)
Photographs of animals are collaged with paintings to illustrate each letter. Arnold is an amazing aviator. Arnold is a photograph of a real Dalmatian wearing a painted scarf and goggles, flying in an airplane. The paintings are primitive with bold colors and appear child-like, yet the resulting effect is quite unique. Carlos wears a checkered cap in his convertible, and Deborah delivers donuts. Freddie is an adorable kitty cat holding a fishing line at the beach. Not only is the artwork unusual, the activities of the cats and dogs are also fun and will intrigue kids. Patrick paints pet portraits, Tabitha taps her tambourine and Wendy wears weird wigs. A deserving addition to the legions of alphabet books. 2001, Little Brown, $14.95. Ages 4 up.
(PUBLISHER: Little Brown and Company (Boston:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
(PUBLISHER: Little Brown and Company (Boston:), PUBLISHED: 2001.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews (3-4 sentences in your own words):
Both of the reviews mention the delightful illustrations that Moxley has included. They also both write how the cats and dogs in the story are doing human like activities, creating a sense of humor to the story and a lifestyle that children can relate to. The reviewers describe the book to be a good pick for exploring the alphabet in a more creative way. Overall, it appears the reviewers like Moxley’s quirky elements but do not see this as the top alphabet book on the market.
Evaluation of Literary Elements (3-4 sentences in your own words):
This book is especially insightful for early readers due to the clear alphabet theme and the use of alliteration in the story as well. Moxley’s writing exemplifies each letter to it’s full extent and includes an accompanying visual to further understand the concept. This alphabet book is creative and maintains the focus throughout.
Consideration of Instructional Application (3-4 sentences in your own words):
This book is ideal to be used early on in the school year. Because of the alliteration, it best suits classrooms above the kindergarten level. An activity that can take place after this is the students using their own name to create an alliteration sentence and accompanying illustration; or perhaps, the class could make their own alliteration alphabet to hang in the classroom.

[Caroline Herfindahl]

An alphabet book full of both cats and dogs. Alliterative text including excellent verbs for each letter is accompanied by photo collage illustrations.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

M thought this was hilarious.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because instead of using just one word per letter (A is for apple.) it uses a whole sentence ("Arnold is an amazing aviator.") While it makes the book a little more difficult, it can help students see the different sounds that one letter can make. For each letter there is a photograph of a cat or dog and there is a picture painted around them to make them look as if they are doing a particular activity. Each page also starts with the name of the animal (which begins with the letter of that page) and then says what the animal is doing.
In my classroom, I would use this book as an example for students to create their own alphabet book. I would assign each student a letter and ask them to create their own page for a book. After compiling all of the pages, I would make a copy of the book for each student.
I would also use wikkisticks with this book. They could make the letters on their desk for each page of the book.

[Jacob]

ABCD: An Alphabet Book of Cats and Dogs (2001). Written by Sheila Moxley. This picture book teaches young readers the alphabet through the depiction of cats and dogs performing human-like activities (e.g. performing a magic trick, playing the tambourine). Each page is devoted to a letter of the alphabet. Each page includes one short sentence that displays an example of how to use words with the desired letter (ex: Freddie fishes for flounder). The book perfectly balances the length of the pictures with the length of the sentences, each aspect gave the right amount of space. The language used has a very light, humorous tone that would appeal to all readers. The illustrations depict real pictures of cats and dogs placed within the context of vibrant artwork. This approach is a fun and inventive way to show pets who seem to be performing human-like activities. Overall, this alphabet book is a simple but imaginative way to help young children learn the alphabet. Target audience: ages 3-5.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each page of the book is dedicated to a letter of the alphabet. There is only one sentence per page. The sentence uses alliteration of the featured letter and at times some more challenging descriptive vocabulary. The illustrations were created using photographic prints of real cats and dogs and acrylic paints.

[William Dickerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute idea. Not much else to say, but if you love cute pics of cats and dogs, you'll enjoy this book.

[Kayla]

Title: ABCD: An Alphabet Book of Cats and Dogs
Author: Sheila Moxley
Genre: ABC Book
Theme(s): Alphabet, Cats, Dogs
Opening line/sentence: Aa – Arnold is an amazing aviator.
Brief Book Summary: Pictures of cats and dogs doing things are used to describe a sentence for each letter of the alphabet. Each animal has a name that matches the letter on the page.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Jo Head
The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
“Bright and enjoyable, this ABC picture book is a wonderful way to look at the alphabet. Real pictures of adorable cats and dogs with names that begin with each letter of the alphabet are racing, flying, and doing other amazing tricks throughout the book.”
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Lauren Peterson
Booklist
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
“Youngsters will enjoy browsing through this very appealing book long after they know their ABCs.”
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews bring up very important elements of this book, like its brightness and use of real pictures. I did not realize that this book could continue to be enjoyable to children even after they learn the alphabet until I read Peterson’s review.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The book uses a very playful font and a variety of colors that keep a rather lengthy alphabet book entertaining. The author uses pictures that personify the animals, doing actions that only humans would, which makes the book easier for kids to relate to. The sentences are silly, but easy to follow along and even memorize because of the alliteration.
Consideration of Instructional Application: The alphabet is long, so reading this book frequently could get boring to the students despite being a cute and entertaining book. After reading this book aloud, I would assign each of my students one letter from the book. I would have them come up with similar sentences from the book using a name, verb, adjective, and nouns. Because they would need to know the different parts of speech to do this activity, I would use it in an older-aged class rather than a younger class that is still learning the alphabet.