Pioneer Life from A to Z

Christine Linge is a past director of the Toronto & District Parent
Co-operative Preschool Corporation, a freelance writer, and a bookseller
specializing in children’s literature.

Crabtree Publishing’s AlphaBasiCs series explores historical, social,
and artistic themes using the alphabet as a frame of reference. Because
of the young reader’s familiarity with the ABCs, defined topics are
easy to remember and quick to access. At the same time, curiosity about
what each letter will bring encourages exploration (young readers will
check out their favorite letters, such as their initials.) Featuring a
mixture of excellent photographs and drawings by many talented artists,
and reflecting careful attention to gender and race equity (a trademark
of Crabtree books), each volume also includes a glossary (“Words to
Know”) and index. End-papers and glossy covers promise a long shelf
life.

In Community Helpers from A to Z, we learn about a different member of
the community for each letter of the alphabet. Several large-print
sentences describe the role of each community helper, and captioned
photographs add more specific details. Young readers are reassured by
the familiarity of some material (the predictable “D is for doctor”
and “F is for firefighter”), while their range of knowledge on the
subject is broadened by the more esoteric “W is for water-treatment
worker” and “Q is for quality-control technician.”

Every reader will see himself or herself as the “Me” in The Wonders
of Me from A to Z. Written in the first person, this volume discusses
children’s experiences: for example, feelings (“quarrels”),
physiology (“hair”), attributes (“imagination”), relationships
(“friends”), and activities (“catching my ZZZZs”). Most entries
end with a provocative question: “What is the best dream you’ve ever
had?” “What are some of the sounds your body makes?”

The historical AlphaBasiCs, Pioneer Life and Colonial Times, are
particularly effective reference works, employing a rich array of color
drawings, reproductions of period paintings and photos of costumed
models, period toys, and tools to create an attractive and informative
panorama of pioneer life/colonial times in North America. Letter topics
cover all aspects of settlers’ lives, from the ubiquitous “M is for
mill” and “Q is for quilt” to the more subtle “U is for
undertaker” and “E is for ear trumpet.” Some examples, like “C
is for churn,” describe in detail how work was once done. Colonial
Times is enhanced by interactive activities in which the reader is asked
to match pictures to captions, identifying, for example, tradesmen’s
signs and products. The extensive description of period wigs, boots, and
neckwear could be used in play production.

These attractive and cleverly designed volumes are highly recommended.