Gabby. Joyce Grant. Illustrated by Jan Dolby. Markham. ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013. 32 pp., hardcover, $18.95. ISBN 978-1-55455-250-4. Subject Heading: Friendship-Juvenile fiction. Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 3-8. Review by Vasso Tassiopoulos. *** /4

excerpt:

Gabby was almost finished tidying her playroom.

She reached, reached, reached to put her last book away when suddenly... ...the book tumbled out of her hands and hit the shelf—wham!

To her surprise, the letters bounced right out of the book!

Gabby is a colourful and animated picture book that will engage children through its bright illustrations and imaginative text. The story also functions as a creative lesson in how to spell and attach meaning to words. The text by Joyce Grant is skilfully placed on each page to complement Jan Dolby's illustrations. Throughout the book's bright images, colourful letters of the alphabet are embedded into objects appearing in Gabby's playroom. The story shows young readers how letters turn into sounds and come together to spell words. As Gabby spells words throughout the story, the things she spells out come to life in front of her.

     Gabby's imaginative spelling adventure starts when one of her books falls to the floor releasing letters of the alphabet all over her playroom. Gabby spells the first word in the story by finding a 'c' on the carpet, an 'a' on the armchair, and a 't' on the table. As Gabby spells 'cat' a cat appears in her playroom and triggers a chain of events that keeps Gabby on a continuous search for letters. On her journey, Gabby continues to spell words with the letters she finds in order to keep a peaceful balance between the things that come to life.

      On each page, children will take delight in searching for letters along with Gabby. The illustrations are full of action and movement that children will enjoy following as the story is read to them or as they look at the book independently. Small details, such as a small frog hidden amidst the action on each page, will also be fun for children observing the colourful images. Two pages at the end mention the hidden frog and also contain various activities that parents or teachers can introduce to children to make the story even more meaningful and interactive.

Recommended.

Vasso Tassiopoulos, a graduate of the Master of Arts program in Children's Literature at the University of British Columbia, currently works in an assortment of childcare settings in Toronto, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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