A is for Alberta

Mindy Johnstone takes readers through the entire alphabet and links each letter to an Alberta theme. Some letters are location focused, some are environmental and some are popular activities that occur in Alberta. Each letter takes up one page and has two lines of accompanying text that then rhymes with the following page. This formatting creates sets of rhyming quatrains on each spread of pages which make for excellent reading aloud. A beautiful, acrylic painting goes along with every letter and matches what is said in the text. Each illustration uses vivid colours that pop off the page, and the thick, black outlines on the images make the pictures more accessible for younger readers.

A is for Alberta would be a really good interactive book to read together because there are so many talking points around the locations and activities that kids will love to tell you everything they know about Alberta. The book also includes back matter that provides fun facts on each of the illustrations and accompanying text. Sometimes the fun fact is a definition of a difficult word, like “coulee”, and sometimes it’s details on a specific location. Johnstone does a great job at covering the breadth of Albertan features, and, for those discerning readers who noticed gaps in her coverage, perhaps a game can be made of what was missing.

While the illustrations are hands down the shining feature of this alphabet picture book, readers can have a lot of fun talking about future road trips to see all Alberta has to offer!