Once Upon an Alphabet: 
Short Stories for all the Letters

by Oliver Jeffers

Jeffers, O. (2014). Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for all the Letters. New York, NY:  Philomel Books.

Twenty-six individual, yet occasionally interrelated, stories come together in one entertaining book.  Oliver Jeffers steps up the simple ABC book with his thought provoking, funny and sometimes even a little dark, humorous collection of stories, one for each letter of the alphabet.  There are four pages devoted to each letter, beginning with A and the astronaut who is afraid of heights, all the way to Z where the Zeppelin propels him an astonishingly 4 feet off the ground.  From the Burning Bridge, to the Elephants in Envelopes to the Owl who rides on an Octopus, older children will delight in an ABC book that's designed for them.

Visual Element: Line

A minimal use of color and simplistic hand drawn lines in true Jeffers’ fashion give this book just the right touch of imagery and hilarity.  

Evaluation Criteria: Style

This story is not your traditional alphabet book.  Jeffers uses dry wit, and a dose of rhyme and irony to create a story for every letter of the alphabet.  Children will enjoy the alliteration, “Mary is made of matter.  So is her mother” and even the often time grim outcomes such as when after half of Helen’s house falls into the sea, she accidentally rolls out of the wrong side of the bed.