Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

The Most Loved Book in Ryder’s Universe

By

Dear Readers, 

Over the next few weeks I’ll be showcasing a few products that I particularly love – which also make fabulous holiday gift ideas. It is separate from a “gift guide” as I’ve hand selected these items as my top choices. There is no flashy promotion involved; no fancy giveaways. Just products I truly believe in. Enjoy!

– Lena xo

For the past three months, Ryder has been attached to one book. He takes it to Grandma’s, he takes it on car rides, he takes it to bed. In fact, seeing the book tucked under his sweet little arm is normally a sign that he’s ready for some quiet time. And it’s not a book about cars; it’s not a book about bears.

It’s the “Artsy Alphabet” book by Artsy Pear.

Our copy is dog-eared from use; the once perfect pages are worn and slightly crumpled. But Ryder traces every letter with precision, sounding the alphabets phonetically as he consults the artfully drawn pictures. He learns each letter until he can tell me with complete conviction – “Mommy! Did you know that D is for dog and duck and door and dragon?”

The pages come alive with hand crafted illustrations depicting words that begin with the letter. Verses are whimsically rhymed to make reading enjoyable and fun to follow along. Each page is engaging and special; as Ryder matches the word with the letter, his vocabulary is enriched while he distinguishes between upper and lower cases.

Ryder takes Artsy Alphabet everywhere; he even takes it on vacation. While Reid was splashing around in the water park on our recent Royal Caribbean cruise, this is what Ryder was doing:

(Of course, the apple does not fall far from the tree; you can just catch a glimpse of Mommy beside him, shunning the water to read a riveting story herself.)

Artsy Alphabet is the first children’s book illustrated and written by the team of Connie Fisher and Gwen Smales; two friends living in Muskoka who share a passion for drawing and painting. “Working together allows their creativity to flourish and their whimsical spirits to design colourful, fun and playful art!” #LOVECanadianAuthors

The book retails for $16.00 is available at SHOP.CA. For any preschoolers on your gift giving list this holiday season, I encourage you to pick up this artfully educational book.

As Ryder grows and matures, I know we will look back on this book as one of his treasured artifacts from childhood. Canadian made + hand drawn illustrations + educational and entertaining = it’s a keeper.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. This is awesome!!! I love it! I also love that it’s written by Canadians. It would make a great gift for my best friend’s niece, it’s her birthday soon!

    • Nicole, I strongly suggest you gift it for her birthday. It’s so whimsically written and I can’t get over how engaged Ryder is with sounding out the letters and words.

  4. That looks like a fun book! Good to see Ryder getting the most out of it. Look forward to hearing his creative version of the alphabets. |-)

  9. The Artsy Alphabet sounds perfect! I always love giving books at Christmas – I’ll for sure check this one out! Thanks Lena!

  10. Thanks Lena:

    I am seriously looking for a good book for my granddaughter – Lia. Cheers, keep up the great work. Vanda