Al Pha's Bet

March 7, 2011
Rosenthal's (Duck! Rabbit!) Al Pha is a character from ancient history, a man who "lived back when all sorts of things were being invented. Like fire. The wheel. Shadows." He's a funny-looking guy, too, with a thumblike body and jellified arms. In a private bet with himself, he takes up the king's challenge to arrange the letters of the alphabet in a beautiful order. Durand's (Big Rabbit's Bad Mood) loopy acrylic paintings carry the story through a long, long middle section about how Al comes to arrange each of the letters as he does ("Gee, I really am doing it. G—that can be the next letter!"), populating Al's world with a wacky assortment of proto-trees and flowers, as well as a cast of equally goofy-looking villagers and animals. Pages are well designed and visually lively throughout, the text peppered with spot illustrations. At long last Al's project is done, and—predictably—the king recognizes his effort and names the alphabet after Al and his private wager. Fans of dopey puns everywhere, rejoice! Ages 3–5.

April 15, 2011

Less a traditional abecedary than an original pourquois tale, Rosenthal's latest asks the question, how did the alphabet come to be?

The story purports that letters (along with fire, the wheel and shadows) were already invented when title character, Al Pha, makes a bet with himself that he can devise the best order for them. The king has high hopes that "once the letters are organized, writing will really take off! Books! Poetry! Love letters! Stop signs!" The illogic of this anticipation is mitigated by the humorous tone of the text and Delphine Durand's cartoonish, acrylic illustrations, which then depict Al Pha lugging a sack of letters home to begin to sorting them into an order largely based on associations. "The first one was easy. He chose A, for Al." Later, "Feeling hungry, Al picked an apple. 'Mmmm. Delicious.' All that mmmming led him to the next letter. And that's double perfect, thought Al. M for middle." His task complete a few spreads later, Al Pha presents the ordered letters to the king, who sings them in sequence and then names the arrangement in honor of Alpha and his bet.

A fresh take on a tried-and-true topic. (Picture book. 3-5)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 2-This unimaginative fantasy about the invention of the alphabet seems to be a clear case of the title having been written before the story. Quotidian and episodic, the tale is mostly filler to cover 26 letters worth of alphabetical organization. "A long time ago," a king of an unnamed country decides that the newly invented letters need to be organized. A man named Al Pha-as one would have already guessed-makes a bet with himself that he can put the letters in some kind of order. He then proceeds to do this, with all 26 decisions inspired by random occurrences happening around him. When a bee flies by, he says, "'Hey, that's it. A. B. Thanks, bee!' " Later Al is hungry and eats an apple. "'Mmmm. Delicious.' All that mmmming led to the next letter." Readers who somehow make it past the awkward title and overhyped premise of Al's unintimidating quest will be bored long before he completes it. Durand's cheerful squat figures, stylized plant life, and inventive forest creatures add some interest, but each busy page is as lacking in a focal point as the meandering story.-Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
Preschool-G Al Pha lives in a time when the 26 letters have just been invented (along with the wheel, shadows, and so on). The king wants someone to arrange these new curiosities: Once the letters are organized, writing will really take off! Books! Poetry! Love letters! Stop signs! After making a betget it?that he can do it, Al sets to work. With sometimes reason (B for the bee buzzing by) and sometimes rhyme (C, D, and E simply rhyme with B), Al wends his way through the letters: M' for middle; no, no, no (N, O), he won't give up!; and P arrives just when Al has to run to the restroom. Some vocabulary in the playful text will be over kids' heads (for Q, a bird lands right on cue). But the layered levels will at least keep adults amused, too. Whimsical illustrations dot the two-page spreads, blending bright cartoon images with clever visual allusions. The finale sees the wondrously arranged string of letters being named after its proud creator. Makes sense, right?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2011
"After the twenty-six letters had been invented," Al Pha takes up the challenge of putting them in order. His logic is often a stretch (E next to F because they look alike, P because "just then, nature called"), but it may still help readers make sense of the alphabet's seemingly arbitrary order. Acrylic illustrations of characters shaped like thumbs enhance the humor.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)