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Have you been following along in my reading series? As mentioned in a previous post, Great Rhyming Books, the first phonological skill developed is the enjoyment of rhyme and alliteration (developing around the age of 4). You can access the phonological development chart at Reading Rockets. Phonological skills are one of the building blocks to successful literacy. In the link of my post “Great Rhyming Books” listed above, I gave several examples of age-appropriate books which could be used to promote rhyming skills. In today’s post, I will give several examples of picture books which promote alliteration skills.
At this point, you might be wondering what alliteration is. Or, maybe you remember having to make up poems or phrases using alliteration while you were in grade school. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers….” is a great example of this type of word play. Alliteration is when the same sound is repeated at the beginning of several words within a sentence or phrase.
Reading books out loud which contain alliteration is a wonderful way to get a child’s ear tuned for the repetition of similar sounds. A great activity would be to read one of the following books and follow it up by making up some of your own alliterative phrases or sentences. Kids love silly sentences! Look lower for a long list of lovely literary library books. And, yes, I just used alliteration.
Picture Books Containing Alliteration
See if you can find some of these age-appropriate books at your public library. I chose not to list tongue-twister books, but you can head to that section of your library’s children’s department to see what they have. Reading or repeating tongue twisters out loud is a good way to work on differentiating sounds and for exercising those mouth muscles. Plus, it is fun for the family and keeps kids entertained in the car on long road trips.
Here is the list of books:
Books by Margaret Atwood: I have read many of her adult fiction books, but she also has some humorous children’s books filled with alliteration.
Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda by Margaret Atwood and Dusan Petricic
Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut by Margaret Atwood and Aryann Kovalski
Rude Ramsey and the Roaring Radishes by Margaret Atwood
Animalia by Graeme Base: This book not only contains great examples of alliteration, it is filled with rich vocabulary and vivid illustrations which assist the child in understanding the vocabulary.
A, My Name is Alice by Jane Bayer and Steven Kellogg: An alphabet book with examples of alliteration for each letter.
Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure by Doreen Cronin: This book is ideal for young preschool age children because there are not a lot of words, but there are examples of alliteration for each letter of the alphabet.
Alligator Arrived with Apples by Crescent Dragonwagon and Jose Aruego: A food feast through the alphabet. Each animal brings items starting with their first name.
All the Awake Animals Are Almost Asleep by Crescent Dragonwagon and David McPhail: An animal ABC book full of alliteration for each letter of the alphabet.
Books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. These books are a little longer, but they are rich with alliteration focusing on one sound per book.
Clara Caterpillar by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole: Contains alliteration focusing on the sound ‘c.’
Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairytale by Pamela Duncan Edwards: Contains alliteration focusing on the sound ‘d.’
Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole: Contains alliteration focusing on the sound ‘f.’
Princess Pigtoria And The Pea by Pamela Duncan Edwards: Contains alliteration focusing on the sound ‘p.’
Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole: Contains alliteration focusing on the the sound ‘s’.
The Worrywarts by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole: Contains alliteration focusing on the sound ‘w.’
Ellsworth’s Extraordinary Electric Ears and Other Amazing Alphabet Anecdotes by Valorie Fisher: This is a great book, not only for alliteration and for learning the alphabet, but it is also rich with vocabulary. Each page contains dozens of photos of items starting with the focus sound of that page. As your child names the objects on the page, they are using alliteration. Almost every photo on each page starts with the target sound. This book would encourage a lot of question-style interaction with your child.
R is for Rocket by Tad Hills: An alphabet book with a sentence using alliteration on each page.
Alison’s Zinnia by Anita Lobel: An alphabet book containing short phrases of alliteration. This book also introduces children to the names of many kinds of flowers starting with each letter of the alphabet.
Walter Was Worried by Laura Vaccaro Seeger: This is an awesome alphabet book with alliterative adjectives (this alliteration ad-lib is awfully addictive). These adjectives give examples of great feeling words. This book is unique because the letters are also included as shapes to help construct the pictures. For example, the ‘L’ might make up a nose. There are many ways to use this book for interacting with your child.
Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book by Dr. Seuss: Each page is filled with examples of alliteration such as “Aunt Annie’s alligators” or “Barber, baby, bubbles, and a bumblebee.” This book is also a great introduction to learning the alphabet.
I’m sure I missed many books. I didn’t want to recommend a book if I couldn’t preview it first. In future weeks, I will continue to add to this reading series with book suggestions for the various stages of reading.
Do you have any books that you suggest which feature alliteration? Or, do you want to try your hand at making up your own alliteration? Feel free to comment or share your word play below.
For other posts in this series, check out the following posts:
Great Rhyming Books to Build Reading Skills
