'A' Was Once an Apple Pie

A Was Once an Apple Pie

Written by: Edward Lear

Illustrated by: Suse MacDonald

Brief Summary: AWas Once an Apple Pie creatively uses all twenty-six letters of the alphabet to create a book of non-sense rhymes in poetry form.

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This book displayed creative, simple, page-filling illustrations on every page. Each letter of the alphabet was represented along with a unique rhyme. For example, the letter 'A':

'A' was once an apple pie,

pidy, widy, tidy, pidy,

nice insidy, apple pie!

The book suggests that its audience be in preschool, kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade. This young elementary-aged group would definitely find this book to be beneficial while learning the alphabet as well as when learning rhyming words. A child who is already familiar with the alphabet letters may find this book to be a tad boring (I myself struggled to get through the entire book.) The story is written in poetry form and it may prove to be a good example for students to look at who struggle with writing poetry of their own. Furthermore, I feel this book is more of a learning tool rather than an actual story. I could see myself reading this book to my one year old nephew in order to introduce to him the letters of the alphabet. I think the overall purpose of the book is simply that: an introduction to the alphabet; each letter is largely placed upon each page aided by a page-filling illustration of an object beginning with that letter. Students who are visual learners may especially find this book appealing. I would definitely recommend reading this book to students who are learning or struggling to learn the alphabet.