I knew I’d love Operation Alphabet (Thames & Hudson, RRP £9.95) as soon as I heard about it. The brainchild of Al MacCuish, creative director at ultra-cool East London ad agency Mother, it’s a glorious tale with divine retro illustrations by Luciano Lozano.
The premise is that under a postbox near the Houses of Parliament is the Ministry of Letters, a super-secret government agency where all the letters and words in the world are created. This first story (it’ll be a crime if there aren’t any more to come) tells of small boy Charlie Foxtrot, a reluctant reader who is taught to love letters and words by by the SAS (Special Alphabet Service) through a series of marvellous adventures.
We can’t get enough of this book at bedtime – I love it as much as Alfie (I adore Stan and Ollie the exclamation marks)Â and, although A relishes reading letters, I genuinely believe this could be a great learning aid for less keen kids. The website is also fab – you can check out the manifesto and meet individual letters, plus there are freebie downloads of bookmarks and bookplates and a video of the alphabet orchestra. There is an app in the offing and I for one can’t wait.
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