The Turn-Around Upside-Down Alphabet Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst

Ernst, Lisa. (2004). The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Grade Level:
I would recommend this book for students in grades K-3.

Author:
Lisa Campbell Ernst has written over twenty children’s books. This book was a Notable Children’s Book for 2005.

Summary:
This book examines each letter of the alphabet and different things this letters may become. Each letter is inside of a square. On the bottom side of the square the letter is stated. On the other three sides of the square three things are presented that this letter may become. For example “C pretends to be an angel’s halo, macaroni and cheese, a hoop earring.” The words are also written in a way in which the reader must turn the book as they read. For example, macaroni and cheese is on the top sid of the square. But looking at a book the standard way the words are upside-down. You have to turn the book around as you read it. Hence the title, The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book.

Standards:
Language Arts:
-Applying Knowledge
-Applying Language Skills

Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book were done by Lisa Ernst. The book does not say, but I believe the illustrations were computer generated. The consist of a large letter in various colors. They are simple, but effective.

How I would use the book in the classroom:
This book would be good to use when studying the alphabet. I would like to use it to allow students to truly look at a letter. It would allow them to use their imagination. What could this letter become. I think it would be fun to go on a scavenger hunt for shapes of letters.

My response to the book:
This book was not what I expected. I enjoyed reading it though. It presented a lot of ideas about what letters can become that I had never thought of. I thought the letters and colors stood out on the black pages.

Related Texts:
*3-D ABC by Bob Raczka
*Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans
*The Hidden Alphabet by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
*The Disappearing Alphabet by Richard Wilbur
*Tomorrow’s Alphabet by George Shannon
*Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson

Other:
The letters on each page are over sized making them easy to see. Each page has a black boarder with a letter inside of a box. This correlates with the cover. The cover has a black boarder with A, B, C, D inside of a box. These letters are turned around.