The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town

by Judy Sierra

Book Overview

A delightful book to read out loud with children who are just learning their ABCs.

It's sleepy time in Alphabet Town. But the twenty-six little letters of the alphabet all have something they need--or want--to do before BIG-letter moms and dads tuck them in. Not since the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom has there been such an appealing way to teach the youngest child the ABCs while providing a one-minute goodnight story...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375840028
• ISBN13: 9780375840029
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.4" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 3 years and under

Customer Reviews

A Splendid Alphabet Book

Every kid in the whole world will tell you that Capital Letters are the most important because they are the "grownup" letters. That's why kindergarteners persist in printing in all caps to start with, I betcha. In this likable little lullaby book, the Grownup Letters are trying to get their rambunctious offspring into bed. This delightful book would be greatly loved in every preschool classroom or kindergarten as a pre-naptime read-aloud. Judy Sierra's sparse tight rhyme combines with stunningly childlike illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Check out her website at [...] where you'll find a terrific concentration game kids will love. Sweet's illustrations personify each "little letter" as the child of its "big daddy or momma" letter most charmingly. On the endplates, the letters, big and little, are easily identified as belonging to each other by color, composition, texture, all except the X which I suppose will always be a bit of an odd one. The sense of aliveness of the letters permeates the pages which are solid color on the left, scene-filled on the right, making this a perfect beginning-to-read title for those early readers who need big type on an uncluttered background. It is inherently charming to see adjacent letters of the alphabet enjoying their lives together, something I never thought of, but of course it makes sense. They spend so much time together, you know. Each rollicking picture includes objects related by their beginning letter to at least one of the letters in the scene; undoubtedly the favorite page will be "u" taking off his underwear. Eventually all the little letters successfully settle down to sleep but the reader feels a nagging urge to read it again, just for fun. What a great addition to the alphabet book genre! At [...] you'll find a short educational guide to The Sleepy Little Alphabet as well as her other wildly popular picture books

Great Bedtime Story

I purchased this book for my grandson's third birthday. He loved the book and wanted it read to him ten times the first night! It continues to be a favorite of his.

Absolutely the cutest

The Sleepy Little Alphabet is a really cute and clever way to help your child enjoy the bedtime ritual and learn their letters. Mom and Dad capital letters help tuck in lowercase sleepy letters which resist being put to bed with the usual toddler and child excuses. My granddaughters giggled through the letter p which upset the potty and the letter t which tucked their teddy bear into bed--a favorite ritual of theirs! The illustrations are detailed and both overtly and subtly clever. For the child that likes to reread the same book constantly, there is a lot of detail to discuss and discover. My 18 month old granddaughter now knows most of her letters and I attribute much of that learning to this book and our nightly bedtime ritual of reading it!

Fun Way to Learn the ABCs

I'm not sure who liked this book better, me or my son! THE SLEEPY LITTLE ALPHABET by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Melissa Sweet is just the cutest darn book that I've seen in a long time. I couldn't wait to read it to my son; and as soon as we finished the book, we went back and looked at all of the pictures again. I'm certain that it's going to be a new favorite for us. THE SLEEPY LITTLE ALPHABET is an ideal bedtime book. The basic idea is that each of the letters in the alphabet are getting ready to go to bed. For example, the letter B "still has a bath to take" and the letter T "tucks in her teddy bear." The story goes through each letter in the alphabet until all of the letters are sound asleep in their own beds. It is just too adorable. I think the book will help to get your child into the mindset of sleep (as much as any book can.) This book is a quick read and I can almost promise that your child will stay interested the entire time. There story is pretty catchy since it does rhyme, and there are just a few big words on each page. What really makes this book extra-special are the illustrations -- they are just beautiful. I don't know if you can tell with the small picture of the book at the beginning of this review, but each letter has a funny-little face and lots of colors and patterns. Every page in this book is cuter than the next, and I love how the illustrator even managed to capture facial expressions on the little letters. There is a lot going on in each picture and I think children will keep noticing new things every time they pick up the book. As a mother, I absolutely loved the story, but I also thought it was terrific that this book teaches children their ABCs. I thought it was just so cute that the children letters were lowercase, and the parent letters were the capitals. What I especially liked is that the text in the book referenced the letters in their lowercase form which are often times more difficult for children to learn. This story is so entertaining that kids might not even realize that you are working on their letters with them. In fact when my son and I read this book, I make him say the letters that appear in the text -- it's kind of like a read-a-long for us. He likes participating and I like that he is practicing his lowercase letters. He thought this book was terrific and he laughed a lot when I read it the first time. Of course, his favorite parts were the letter U who "takes off his underwear" and the letters O and P who "upset the potty" (he is a boy for sure because anything potty related is hilarious.) He also liked the letter Q who is "quiet as a bunny." I was shocked when we talked about this story how much he remembered about the various letters and their bedtime activities. I can't recommend this book enough. It is absolutely perfect for the toddler or preschooler in your life. It has already been named the winner of the 20209 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. This book is available on June 9th, so make su

Too cute!

This is a great book to read to the kids at bedtime. Its got great illustrations...and is absolutely adorable that the capital letters (mom & dad) put the baby letters (lowercase) to sleep...how stinkin' cute! ;) A definite must have for those that like ABC and bedtime books...