"The World Doesn't Need Another Rhyming Tooth Fairy or Alphabet Book."

-Andrea Brown,owner of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc.

Her words, not mine, and she said them around 1998 in an interview you can find HERE. But, boy, I could not agree more, and I think those words are even more relevant today than they were in 1998.

Have you looked in the children’s book section lately? How many ABC books could this country possibly need? Go to any given baby shower on any given day, and chances are, that unborn child is going to be the owner of one-or two-or three-or four-or five (please, don’t give the child more than five!) rhyming/singing/bouncing ABC books. Stop it with the ABC books!

Now I may be a little biased; I found the world’s best ABC book when I was in Kindergarten and met a certain feisty little “a” that had an obsession with a coconut tree. Twenty years later, I’d still say it’s number one. Just go check my kids’ playroom. The coconut tree takes up half a wall. We have, however,restricted little “a” from climbing it any longer. That would only serve to enable my two-year-old’s band-aid addiction.

But seriously, I think Ms. Brown was onto something. Don’t we have better things to teach our children in their books? One ABC book, maybe two if it’s really cute. That’s all your child needs. Fill the rest of their home library with books about values, family, friends , diversity, tolerance, science, math, religion,cooking, coloring, cars, trucks, dreams, dragons,dinosaurs, dogs, cats,chameleons (we love “A Color of His Own”), and really, anything other than ABCs.

Give the kid some variety.