Reading Through the Alphabet (Minus the X)

This week we’ve come to the the Letter Z…perfect timing, actually.  During this school  year, I’ve been playing a game of sorts with my 1st through 3rd grade classes.  I always read a story at the beginning of their visit, and we began in September with a book written by an author whose last name begins with the Letter A.  Each week, we proceeded through the alphabet, and this week we will read No Roses for Harry! by Gene Zion.

It’s a tricker task than you might think.  I had to choose a book from our library shelves and try to find something that would work for a read aloud story.  In other words, in our G collection, I love the nearly wordless books by Arthur Geisert, but for obvious reasons, they would not work.  There are other favorites that are too long to read in a group setting.  The kids got pretty into it, and of course, announced the letter of the week as they walked into the library.  I made myself stick to the rules – even though some weeks presented a limited selection.

The Letters Q and X were the tricky ones, but at the end of the day, a discovery of Robert Quackenbush’s book, Henry’s Awful Mistake saved the day.  X was our downfall.  I searched Amazon, the local Barnes and Noble, the public library database, but just couldn’t find anything.  So, after 26 weeks of letters, we have come to the end, but the Missing X hangs over us!

Here are the books we read:

Milo’s Hat Trick by Jon Agee

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole

Tom by Tomie dePaola

Cowboy Kid by Max Eilenberg

Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile

Oscar’s Half Birthday by Bob Graham

Duck & Goose by Tad Hills

The Ugly Duckling retold by Rachel Isadora

That New Animal by Emily Jenkins

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy

Police Cloud by Christoph Niemann

Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne

Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Henry’s Awful Mistake by Robert Quackenbush

The Great Gracie Chase by Cynthia Rylant

The Donut Chef by Bob Staake

The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksei Tolstoy and Niamin Sharkey

Duck at the Door by Jackie Urbanovic

Lizette’s Green Sock by Catharina Valckx

A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams

X

Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino

No Roses for Harry! by Gene Zion