Arabella’s Alphabet Adventure

Suzy Zail

Christopher Nielsen

Walker Books, 2022

32pp., hbk., RRP $A25.99

9781760652425

On the library shelf marked “Especially for Children”, sits Arabella’s Alphabet Adventure, a book with just 26 letters, one to a page yet not one single word.

“I’m an ABC book and that’s all I’ll ever be,” Arabella complained to her capital C.  How she wished she was filled with words and stuffed with stories like the other books even though she has flaps to lift and levers to pull and is the most beautiful and most borrowed book in the library – but only ever by children. Tired of having her pages torn by sticky fingers, Arabella slips into the Very Serious Book section of the library and takes an adventure within the pages of an African travel guide. But will Arabella realise that where she belongs is closer than she thinks?

As well as the strong message about being careful what you wish for, Arabella offers young readers the opportunity to explore the different sorts of books in the library – there are so many more than just the story books they are probably familiar with providing a pathway to exploring fiction and non fiction, picture books and novels, and all the other variations and their characteristics,  Astute teachers might even touch on how Arabella had an impact on others’ lives even though she wasn’t aware of it and how that can happen with people too.  “If someone has lost their smile, give them one of yours” is as necessary today as it was when I first heard it as a child myself. 

There are other themes to explore too and these can be found on the free  Read to Us! Story Time Kit , a new initiative from the publishers offering ideas and activities for some of their new publications providing the opportunity to make them more than just a single read.  

This is one of those splendid picture books that offer something new to explore every time you share it – it’s no wonder it was the most popular book in the library!