AlphaPets
Alphapets is a series of children's books by Ruth Lerner Perle, Deborah Colvin Borgo, Judy Blankenship and Richard Max Kolding. They are similar to the Sweet Pickles books in that each letter of the alphabet is represented in a separate book with an animal representing each letter. Each story was filled with words and objects that begin with the letter of the alphabet featured in that book. A special word page at the end of each book provided extra practice in identifying letters and words. The series was initially published in the early 1990s.
Each story followed a similar formula in that typically each animal has a distinct personality trait. This trait was used to build the plot and to impart a moral lesson to the reader. For example, in Justin's Just Joking, Justin is always playing jokes on his friends, making them feel sad. At the end of the book, Justin's friends play a joke on him to make him understand how much his jokes hurt.
These books are appropriate for beginning readers of all ages; however, depending on the child's reading skill, the series are generally recommended for children from Preschool through to 3rd grade.
Characters
- Aa - Albert the Absent-minded Alligator
- Bb - Bradley the Brave Bear
- Cc - Connie the Cuddly Cat
- Dd - Delilah the Demanding Duck
- Ee - Emmy the Exaggerating Elephant
- Ff - Fenton the Fearful Frog
- Gg - Gertie the Grungy Goat
- Hh - Herbie the Happy Hamster
- Ii - Ivy the Impatient Iguana
- Jj - Justin the Joking Jackal
- Kk - Katy the Kind Koala
- Ll - Lizzy the Lazy Lamb
- Mm - Monty the Mimicking Mouse
- Nn - Nelly the Naughty Newt
- Oo - Ollie the Obedient Ostrich
- Pp - Perry the Polite Porcupine
- Qq - Queenie the Quiet Quail
- Rr - Rupert the Resourceful Rhinoceros
- Ss - Sylvester the Stubborn Squirrel
- Tt - Tina the Truthful Tiger
- Uu - Una the Unhappy Unicorn
- Vv - Vinnie the Vocal Vulture
- Ww - Wendy the Wise Woodchuck
- Xx - Xavier the X-ploring Xenops
- Yy - Yori the Yucky Yak
- Zz - Ziggy the Zippy Zebra
Books
- A - Albert's Special Day
- B - Bradley and The Great Swamp Mystery
- C - Connie, Come Home
- D - Delilah's Delightful Dream
- E - Emmy, You're The Greatest
- F - Fenton and the Magic Bag
- G - Gertie's Great Gifts
- H - Herbie's Happy Day
- I - Ivy Can't Wait
- J - Justin's Just Joking
- K - Katy's Surprise
- L - Lizzy at Last
- M - Monty See Monty Do
- N - Nelly, That's Not Nice
- O - Ollie's Folly
- P - Perry's Not So Perfect Day
- Q - Queenie's Secret
- R - Rupert to the Rescue
- S - Sylvester and the Sand Castle
- T - Tina Tells the Truth
- U - Una Cheers Us Up
- V - Vinnie Takes a Bow
- W - Wendy's Clubhouse
- X - Xavier and the Laughing Xoxos
- Y - Yori and Yetta
- Z - Ziggy and the Zig-Zag Race
There are also several additional "Take One Home Free" books, which compliment the publications, Emmy the Elephant and Money Doesn't Grow on Trees; a story about saving and making money that features most of the cast of the Alphapets series.