P is for pterodactyl : the worst alphabet book ever

by Raj Haldar

Other authorsChris Carpenter (Author.), Maria Beddia (Illustrator.)

Hardcover, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

421.1

Description

Turning the traditional idea of an alphabet book on its head, P is for Pterodactyl is perfect for anyone who has ever been stumped by silent letters or confused by absurd homophones. This whimsical, unique book takes silent letter entries like "K is for Knight" a step further with "The noble knight's knife nicked the knave's knee." Lively illustrations provide context clues, and alliterative words help readers navigate text like "a bright white gnat is gnawing on my gnocchi" with ease. Everyone from early learners to grown-up grammarians will love this wacky book where "A is for Aisle" but "Y is definitely not for Why."

User reviews

LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan

This is probably the most unique and needed alphabet book in the US. There are many words like ewe, psoriasis, and phlegm that do sound as they are spelled. This book takes a comical look at some every day, and some not so everyday words that start with silent letters. I will admit I had to look up

and hear two words online. Is it no wonder I can’t spell?

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8 more

LibraryThing member RSard

Laugh out loud silliness for readers of all ages. The writers did very well for almost all the alpabet - but V beat them and they were reduced to going to roman maths. A pity! Somehow also appropriate . . .

LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian

My grandchildren love alphabet books, and dinosaurs, so I though this would be right up their alley. Well there was only one dinosaur, but this was an incredibly silly book and my grandson loved it. It poked fun at the way the English language does not follow rules, especially all the silent

letters in the language. It's written quite sarcastically and would probably be appreciated by older children who struggle with pronunciations and spelling as well as younger children who will just enjoy the illustrations and fun text. The art is fun to look at and I enjoyed seeing a book that has fun with the ridiculousness of the English language. I would not recommend this book to early readers as it would probably frustrate them very much. A great addition to a school library. The publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, ideas and opinions are my own.

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LibraryThing member anxovert

Amusing concept, great art. My kids are too old for alphabet books so I bought a copy for the public waiting area at my workplace. :)

LibraryThing member melodyreads

Older kids will enjoy this terrible (!!) alphabet book featuring words with SILENT letters.

LibraryThing member amandabock

This is quite possibly the stupidest book I have ever read. I love it. I downgraded one star because X was boring. X is always the true test of any (English) alphabet book, and this one was just too ordinary. They could have easily used xenophobic, or xanthometer, or xylem.

LibraryThing member doyoudogear

This was such a fun book! My son is familiar with his letters and their sounds, so he was understandably confused most of the time. I had to stop after every page and explain why what he saw was different from what he heard. I'm also not ashamed to admit that even I had to glance at the glossary a

few times for certain pronunciations! Definitely recommend.

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LibraryThing member villemezbrown

A clever book that mocks other alphabet books for children by using silent letters, homophones, and alternate letter sounds. It's a little awkward in writing and art, and not all letters work as well as others with a lot of words imported from other languages carrying a little too much of the load,

but the concept is so winning it's easy to set all that aside.

Bottom line: The English language sucks! But we love it!

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LibraryThing member Daumari

My baby is 10 weeks old, so we'll revisit this when she learns to talk but I figure it doesn't hurt to read out loud everything and there's big pictures for her to look at.

Really fun exploration of word exceptions, with a glossary in the back for those tricky things! I also thought it interesting

they mention that a British accent will drop the r in words like "hard", but then "herbalism" was on the H page and I'm fairly certain some dialects will still pronounce it in that word.

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