P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever

Hilarious educational book. And when I say educational, it’s potentially educational for both kids AND adults. Let’s be honest, the English language is hard! Perfect for gifting to parents of wit, and a healthy sense of humor. And in reality, these kids will need to learn these words eventually, so why not make it fun. As for the book itself, it has regular paper pages which — I learned as a childless adult — is not intended for toddlers, as they may rip out the pages. But I suppose that makes sense, as I don’t anticipate a 2 year old to appreciate this book as much as an older child.

Whomever said English is the hardest language to learn would probably be quite pleased to see P is for Pterodactyl. This is a very clever alphabet book that highlights the difficulties that the English language poses at times with silent letters. Each letter is accompanied by a sentence that highlights several more words that break the sound rule such as “H is for heir. The honest heir admits that herbalism isn’t his cup of tea.” For those who are sensitive to witches, wizardry, and the occult showing up in a kid’s book - yes, there is a psychic pterodactyl and a Ouiji board included in the book. As a Christian, I was not upset at that at all considering there are very few words I can think of that start with a silent O and Ouiji boards are fairly well known. Maybe we’ll see an updated book down the line when someone comes up with a “better” word. Overall, this book was so clever that I bought a second copy for myself and will probably buy one for every kid gift I need to get in the future. It’s witty and educational and just fun to try to read.

Cute book!

great gift for kids and adults

I picked up this book as an end of semester thank you gift for my professor. I think P is for Pterodactyl is a tounge in cheek alphabet book that was the perfect thing to present to a teacher of literacy. This is a must have companion to other alphabet books. When people ask, "What about phonics instruction?" This book shows why phonics is not enough. It is simply one small part of literacy instruction. Funny, unconventional, and irreverent, you'll laugh and nod along as you read from A-Z! Very nicely priced too, about what you might spend on a high quality greeting card, but this is something that really has staying power. Plus, it can be used in the college classroom as an example of the importance of a multi-faceted approach to literacy instruction.

This is a cute book with witty writing and images, but because it was a gift for my sister’s children, I worried about the page on “O,” similar to other reviewers. I liked one reviewer’s idea to make her own page using “O is not for Honor,” so I edited the book’s page with that same verbiage using some construction paper, whited out the word “Ouija” from the writing at the bottom of the page, and changed “witch” to “ones” because I think that “one” is a better way of showing off a different sound of “o” than witch is. It’s not perfect, but I think my sister will appreciate it more than the original.

This book is made as a children's book for those who find the amusement in human life. English can be really damn odd. I can't imagine not being a native speaker. This would be great for a foreigner as a confusing introduction into the oddities in English words. Certain words when said phonetically make no sense at all and that is the point of this book. It will have you realizing just how ridiculous some words that you don't normally think about are spelled. You might even learn some yourself as a native speaker. Trick question, what letter does ______ start with?

Hilarious book, very cute. Not for new readers, but I purchased it anyways for my niece to enjoy in the future. I think her parents have enjoyed it the most. Content is funny, images are engaging.