“In Adam’s Fall, we sinned all.” That catchy little ditty was from one of the earlier abecedarian picture books for children in America (the 1784 edition of The New England Primer, in case you’re curious). Practically from our nation’s inception, alphabet books were a go-to resource for teaching children to read. Every year more and more of them come out, but how many can you name off the top of your head? Just before typing this I was reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to my son and marveling at how Bill Martin Jr. managed to create an actual honest-to-goodness alphabet classic. I don’t know if any of the books on today’s list will ever hit such heights, but I the alphabet books of 2016 have dabbled in some truly sophisticated fare.
2016 Alphabet Books
ABC by Xavier Deneux
I was very good when I posted the board book list. I didn’t say how many names featured were French. After all, once you start seeing the influence of the French on board books, it’s difficult to stop. M Deneux is no exception. This isn’t his first time around the block, but his previous titles do feel as though they were gearing themselves up to this. It is the culmination of all that he has accomplished.
ABC: The Alphabet From the Sky by Benedikt Grob and Joey Lee
Is it as cool as it looks from the cover? My friend, it’s even cooler. Every year I have regrets about the books I didn’t have a chance to officially review. This year it included this book. It’s probably more for older kids and there’s one letter that I think they could have improved, but all told it’s a remarkable effort. It’s also a neat way of talking about our planet. AND it could well be a great book to take onto an airplane with a kid, since the shots will look somewhat familiar from 10,000 feet in the air.
ABCs on Wheels by Ramon Olivera
It’s pretty standard stuff. Vehicles plus the alphabet. Yep. But Olivera’s art is what makes this book a bit better than a lot of similar titles out there. It has this cool retro vibe that obliquely references James Flora for spice.
An Artist’s Alphabet by Norman Messenger
Undoubtedly there must have been alphabet books before now that integrated both upper and the lowercase letters into their art, but I think it’s fair to say that almost none of these are as visually stunning as Messenger’s book. I was just sitting here trying to figure out how I’d describe it. It’s not hyper-realism, though there’s a bit of realism to some of the shots. And it’s not surreal in a David Wiesner sense. I hate to use the d-word, but it seems I have no choice. It’s dreamlike. Nuff said.
A Beauty Collected by Rachel Garahan
If you read this blog regularly then you’ll know that I have a weakness for beautiful photography. And they don’t come much more beautiful than Garahan’s title. I hesitate to call this a picture book. Coming in at 192 pages it is the first true coffee table alphabet book I’ve ever seen of its kind. So why include it on this list? Because in addition to being just the loveliest thing, older kids really do enjoy it. It has the kind of purified beauty that appeals to a wide range of ages. I’m a fan.
Never Insult a Killer Zucchini! by Elana Azone & Brandon Amancio, ill. David Clark
Only two alphabet books on this list truly count as having any kind of a plot. This is another book that will appeal to older kids. The alphabet trope is more of a way of setting up the story (such as it is) than anything else. That said, it’s funny. And funny alphabet books are fairly rare indeed.
Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! An Alphabet Caper by Mike Twohy
I know a librarian who is so gaga over this book she’ll bring you around to it pretty quickly. There’s just one word a page, and it follows the story of a canine and its dogged (har har) pursuit of a mouse. If you’re looking for a really simple alphabet book with a clear plot and even clearer pictures, this is your best bet. I’ve a lot of really sophisticated alphabet books on this list today so it’s nice to have something on the younger end of the scale as well.
Olinguito, from A to Z! / Olinguito, de la A a la Z! by Lulu Delacre
Can I convey adequately how deeply satisfying it’s been this year to see this book showing up time and again on so many Best of the Year lists? DEEPLY satisfying, sez I. This book does so many different things all at the same time but never overextends itself. If I had my way it would be a staple in every library.
Interested in the other upcoming lists of this month? Here’s the schedule so that you can keep checking back:
December 1 – Board Books
December 2 – Board Book Adaptations
December 3 – Nursery Rhymes
December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds
December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books
December 6 – Alphabet Books
December 7 – Funny Picture Books
December 8 – Calde-Nots
December 9 – Picture Book Reprints
December 10 – Math Picture Books
December 11 – Bilingual Books
December 12 – International Imports
December 13 – Books with a Message
December 14 – Fabulous Photography
December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales
December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year
December 17 – Older Picture Books
December 18 – Easy Books
December 19 – Early Chapter Books
December 20 – Graphic Novels
December 21 – Poetry
December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction
December 23 – American History
December 24 – Science & Nature Books
December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Titles
December 26 – Unique Biographies
December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books
December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books
December 29 – Novel Reprints
December 30 – Novels
December 31 – Picture Books
¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! / Olinguito, from A to Z
By Lulu Delacre
Children’s Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books
$18.95
ISBN: 978-0-89239-327-5
Ages 4-7
On shelves now
Adults, I have a little secret. Have you ever wanted to sound smart at dinner parties? Knowledgeable in the ways of the world and how it works? It’s easy to do if you know the secret. Come closer… I’ll whisper it to you. Read nonfiction children’s books. Seriously, do that and watch as your brain expands. If I can talk with any competency about the Donner Party or the siege of Leningrad or the Pentagon Papers, it is because I read nonfiction written for people half my age and younger. Most recently I learned about olinguitos. Ever heard of them? If not, you aren’t alone. These shy little rainforest denizens were only discovered and announced as recently as 2013. Not too much is known about them, which makes placing them into picture books a bit of a challenge. Author/illustrator Lulu Delacre had a plan, though. All she’d need to do would be to turn the story of the discovery of olinguitos into a bilingual/alphabet/nonfiction/search & find title. You see? Easy peasy. Or, put another way, so incredibly difficult that no one else would have ever attempted it. But that’s what I like about Ms. Delacre. Sometimes the craziest ideas churn out the most interesting books.
A zoologist from Washington D.C. is in the cloud forest today. He is searching for the elusive olinguito, a squirrel-like mammal that dwells in the trees. Along his path we meet the rainforest in an abecedarian fashion. From the A for the Andes to the M of moss and monkey, finally ending with Z for the zoologist himself, the book observes the many denizens that call the cloud forest their home. The book is entirely bilingual and backmatter (also bilingual) consists of notes on the “Discovery of the Olinguito”, facts about the Cloud Forest, information about the illustrations, hints on how to be an explorer, a heavily illustrated Glossary, “More Helpful Words”, and an extensive list of Author’s Sources.
I’ve read plenty of Spanish bilingual picture books in my day. In doing so, I’m a bit handicapped since I don’t speak the language. Still, there are things that I can observe from my end. For example, the difficulty Ms. Delacre must have faced in writing two texts, both of which had to contain specific letters of the alphabet. Now the primary language in this book, to a certain extent, is the Spanish. For each letter the Spanish sections get a lot more use than the English. Take the letter “J”. In the Spanish language section it reads, “Jigua jaguey y jazmin brotan, crecen en tal jardin.” Pretty straightforward. Now in the English: “Jigua, fig, and coffee trees sprout and grow in this garden.” Were it not for the “jingua” we’d be out a J. To be fair, sometimes the two languages get equal use of a letter. “I”, for example, is “insectos incredibles y una inerte iguana” and also “incredible insects, and a resting iguana.” However, more often than not the Spanish gets more words with the chosen letter. This is particularly true near the end of the book where the English translations at times completely do away with the letter at all. In “X” and “U” (surprisingly) not a single word in the English portions begin with those letters. What is clear is that the Spanish is the focus of the book. With that in mind, the book acquires another potential use; excellent reading for people learning Spanish.
It’s been a long time since I reviewed a Lulu Delacre book. I think the last time I seriously considered one was when Ms. Delacre illustrated Lucia Gonzalez’s The Storyteller’s Candle. There, the book integrated newspapers and other mixed media to tell the tale of two children introducing their immigrant neighborhood to the library. Here, the art is also mixed media but there’s a smoothness to it that was lacking in Storyteller’s Candle. In the back of the book Ms. Delacre mentions that there are real pressed leaves and flowers in every picture (something I entirely missed on my first, second, and third reads). There is also a zoologist in every picture, like a fuzzy little olinguito-seeking Waldo. Add in the colors, angles, and gorgeous spreads and you’ve got yourself one heck of a colorful outing. Ms. Delacre even mentions in her note at the book’s end that, just to be honest, these pictures are entirely too clear. “I decided to remove the clouds and limit the vegetation. I represented the fog and mist with squares of translucent paper framing the alphabetic letters. This allowed the species to be in plain sight.” Not only is she honest but creative as well.
I’ll level with you that I’m not entirely certain how one goes about using this book with kids. That is not to say that I don’t think it can be done and done well. But what Ms. Delacre has conjured up here isn’t a simple book. It’s not simplistic. The English text lacks much of the fun alliteration of the Spanish, which means the teacher or parent who reads this with their non-Spanish speaking children will need to span that gap themselves. It’s not a readaloud in the sense that you can just read it to a group without comment. This is an interactive text. You need to be spotting the zoologist, naming the vegetation and animals, flipping back and forth between the pictures and the glossary for clarification on different names, etc. In other words, this book requires the adult reader to be an active rather than passive participant in the reading process. Olinguito is more than mere words on a page.
There’s a soft spot in my heart for any book that proves to kids that there is more out there to find and discover than they might expect. The oceans haven’t been mapped out. Outer space remains, in many ways, a mystery. And hidden in the rainforests are tiny creatures just waiting to be discovered. Our world still needs explorers. If it takes one tiny mammal to prove that to them, so be it. A clever, lovely, wise little book. Knowledge of Spanish helpful, but not required.
On shelves now.
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This gem comes to us from Kim Krans, the creator of The Wild Unknown—a lifestyle website offering prints, calendars, and more.
Ace Alligator loves apples. Whether he's picking them, driving home with them, baking a pie, or even just eating them slice by slice.
Veteran bicycle shop owners Scott and Jannine Fitzgerald have penned a new alphabet picture book, B is for Bicycles, that is dedicated to promoting a healthy cycling lifestyle.
Alphabet Trains. Samantha R. Vamos. Illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke. 2015. Charlesbridge. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: Tear the ticket. Load the freight. Sound the whistle. Raise the gate. Clank! Chug-chug! Whoosh! Alphabet trains.
Premise/plots: Alphabet Trains is a train-themed alphabet book for young readers. An author's note at the back of book provides more information on each train. A few trains are just types of trains, but other trains are specific trains. I like learning which trains are real, and where each train is located. For example, "K is for Komet, traveling through the night. L is for Leonardo Express--a trip to Rome postflight." The note reveals, "The Komet runs overnight between Germany and Switzerland. Like a comet in the sky, the train travels at high speed. The Leonardo Express travels back and forth from the airport in Rome, Italy, to the central train station in the city. The trip is just 30 minutes."
My thoughts: I like this one. I like reading and reviewing train books, because I think train books will always have an audience. Little ones like trains. Some really, really, really love trains. Do you have a favorite train book?
Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10
© 2015 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
A funny, one-word-at-a-time story, about cavemen, dinosaurs, and the alphabet.
ABC Bunny. Wanda Gag. 1933/2004. University of Minnesota Press. 40 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence:
A for Apple, big and red
B for Bunny snug a-bed
C for Crash!
D for Dash!
E for Elsewhere in a flash
F for Frog--he's fat and funny
"Looks like rain," says he to Bunny
Premise/Plot: The plot is minimal. Though simple might be a better word. After Bunny is woken up suddenly, this alphabet book follows his adventures. This one won a Newbery Honor in 1934, so obviously the text was thought worthy! But it is an alphabet book. It is a beautifully illustrated alphabet book no doubt.
My thoughts: I love the black and white illustrations. The illustrations are very detailed. I found them oddly mesmerizing. (I love the illustrations of the porcupine and the squirrel). This is an enjoyable book. I don't remember reading it as a child--that is I don't remember having it read aloud to me as a child. (I have very strong memories of reading Millions of Cats). But this is a lovely book. I wish my library had more of Wanda Gag's books.
© 2015 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
The World is So Wide is an exploration of career possibilities in a picture book format with colorful illustrations. The author, Jess Rush, uses rhyme and follows the alphabet from A to Z to provide a list of jobs (Analyst to Zoo vet) meant to inspire young children and broaden their ideas of what the future could hold.
This unique and charming alphabet book uses rhymes and fact snippets to introduce Chinese words to a pre-schooler. The words are written in Pinyin, a sound system using Roman letters to write Chinese sounds. Words introduced are significant in Chinese culture, but relatable in any culture.
If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet, written and illustrated by Leslie McGuirk (
Tricycle Press, $15.99, all ages, 48 pages, 2011).
If rocks could sing? I think this proves they already do. Not only that, they play, swim and haunt about. An adorable thing to behold, McGuirk's clever book shows rocks shaped like every letter of the alphabet and some of the sweet things those words represent. On one page, two big-nosed rocks sit on a seesaw for
U is for Up and on another, blobs of rock with hollow eyes and mouths fly against a black backdrop for
G is Ghosts. Collected on a stretch of Florida coastline over more than 10 years, the rocks are so graphic you'd think McGuirk altered them in Photoshop, but you'll have to take her word for it: these are nature-made. Readers will be so smitten by the pictures in this book, they'll want to hunt for their own rock creatures and may even beg you to let them sleep with them at night.
This Plus That,
Life's Little Equations, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace (
Harper, $16.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages, 2011) What happens when readers add two things together? Amazing compromises that delight and sometimes a few mistakes, but always something they can learn from. In this charming book by the creators
Little Pea,
Little Hoot and
Little OInk, readers discover the possibilities of combining things and how, good or bad, equations make life what it is. Sometimes life is wondrous: when they add one somersault to another and get dizzy or add a smile to a hand wave and make a new friend. And sometimes it can be icky. When they make mistakes, like adding mumbling to toe staring and get the opposite of polite. But even then, there's always a way to make it better: handshake + "how are you" = polite. But sometimes sad stuff just happens: like when two things they like take something they love away: balloon + wind = lost. This clever, gentle book helps kids appreciate -- and accept -- the consequences of actions, and life's twists and turns.
Apple Pie ABC, written and illustrated by Alison Murray (
Disney-Hyperion, $16.99, ages 2-6, 32 pages, 2011) He
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By: Jenny Miller,
on 12/10/2010
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Gyo Fujikawa's A to Z Picture Book, written and illustrated by Gyu Fujikawa, Sterling, ages 4-8, 72 pages. Fujikawa's 1974 classic returns to delight a new generation of learners ready to leap into life and embrace their imagination. A joy to look through, no matter how many times you've seen it, this charming book teaches the alphabet while celebrating the innocence of childhood. Every letter of the alphabet receives a grand, happy welcome -- first, with a softly painted illustration spanning two pages and short sentence or bouncy poem about the letter, then with another spread of delicate ink drawings of dozens of things that start with that letter. Crosshatching and finely drawn lines and dots make every picture in here a delight to look at, though it is the larger-scale illustrations that make your heart soar. One of my favorites is for the letter M. To the left, furry beasts with three-toed claws and snarling mouths reach out to scare a little red-headed boy. To the right, the boy lays on his tummy in the grass with his chin in his hands, staring at his imagined beasts with wonder. "M is for / my mean / and marvelous / monsters," reads a poem above him.
Perfect for giving to a grandchild, niece or nephew, the book includes a whimsical nameplate designed with sticks to write the child's name. Fujikawa, who passed away in 1999, also wrote the darling book,
Babies, published in 1963 -- a book I still have from my childhood with all the nibble marks of my mother's teething babies.
Counting Chickens, written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Flensted Mobiles, Blue Apple Books, $16.99, ages 4-8, 36 pages. Sunny, simple graphics hanging peacefully off mobile strings make this book a must for any little child who loves to count, whether it's with Count Dracula or alone on her fingers and toes. Birds, fish, mammals, a clown with juggling balls and even mice and a slice of cheese take turns being counted as readers tackle simple problems of increasing difficulty. The book charms first with its cover, which shows three colorful silhouettes of chickens, each with an egg still in their tummies. Each of the eggs is printed on see-through plastic that can be see on the other side. As you open the cover, the endpapers reveal all of the chicks that were born on a two-page mobile, along with the three from the cover, which are still in their eggs and look almost like yolks in whites. With beaks wide-open, they appear to be chirping or chipping away at the shell. My favorite spread covers two pages, each with its own mobile. On the right is a mobile with a large black fish and three tiny fish in red, yellow and blue in its stomach. On the left, is the other mobile with eight black fish scattered about. The creators asks readers to count how many fish the big fish ate and for "extra credit," how many of the little fish got away. The book, appealingly crisp, clean and fresh looking, is the creation of Denmark's Fl
By Alethea Kontis
Illustrated by Bob Kolar
$15.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages
A bumbling troupe of letters jockeys for parts in a Halloween play in this adorable encore to the best-seller Alpha Oops!
As the troupe prepares for their big Halloween show, a drowsy "A" insists that "H" go first on stage for "Halloween," once again mixing up letters A-Z.
"Z," who promoted himself up the alphabet in Alpha Oops!, asserts himself once again. As soon as "H" is done with his act, "Z" shuffles forward with red eyes for "Zombie."
Just below him on the page, "N" quakes in his bed from a "Nightmare," as a spider with googly eyes dangles nearby, and what's that on the opposite page?
Don't look now, "K's" jumped into the ocean in a floatie to be a "Kraken" and "P" the "Pirate" is lashing at him from his ship.
But wait, that's not fair. "P" has commandeered "B's" role as raider of the high seas!
That was my costume, "B" the "Buccaneer" complains in his seafaring hat and peg leg, his mouth agape at the injustice of it all.
But down in the lower corner of the next page, "Z" steps forward and scolds "B." "Buck up!" he yells, acting like he's first in the alphabet, before telling "B" to find another costume.
Poor "B." It's a letter-eat-letter world. Even after "G" sprouts horns for "Goblin," "V" flutters out of a coffin for "Vampire" and "R" gets carried away by a "Raven," "B's" still stumped over what to be.
And what's this coming after "R"? Not "V" is for "Vampire" again? (Oh, I see, "E" was so excited by "V's" vampire act, he just called, "E" for "Encore." )
Backstage "B" isn't the only one with acting challenges.
"X" is feel pretty uninspired, but hey, "S" has an idea. Maybe "X" and "S" could do a duet -- "X" for "X-ray", "S" for "Skeleton"?
0 Comments on 7. Alpha Oops! H is for Halloween as of 1/1/1900
I'm a huge fan of alphabet books. My daughter learned all her letters by 17 months due to an alphabet book that just "clicked" with her. However, my huge pet peeve is alphabet books designed to be pretty, and not with the child's actual learning in mind. I get it that some of these books have a different educational goal in mind, like the ABC's of endangered species, but some products seem to be genuinely trying to teach the letters, yet don't seem to have the foggiest notion of phonics.
Letters have sounds. A few letters make more than one sound, but one sound is the most common. When learning to read, we don't start with exceptions, we start with the fundamentals. So WHY do some alphabet books use "chair" for "c" or "owl" for "o"?
Children learning their letters are very young. They have very little life experience. So WHY show a picture of jacks for the letter "j"? Why show them an infant for "i" when any child will call it a baby?
Almost all the letters make their sound when you say their names. "G" and "C" don't, and using the soft sounds in an alphabet book can confuse them with "j" and "s," so I would use their hard sounds. They are most common. Vowels I can accept either way. They say their own names, but the first words kids learn to read will use their short sounds - dog, cat, bed, etc.
WHY doesn't anyone ask ME before writing these books? If they had, here are my choices for each letter:
A - apple
B - ball
C - cat
D - dog
E - elephant
F - frog
G - grapes
H - horse
I - igloo
J - jack-in-the-box
K - king
L - lion
M - monkey
N - nest
O - octopus
P - pig
Q - queen
R - ring
S - Santa Claus
T - turtle
U - umbrella
V - volcano
W - wagon
X - x-ray
Z - zebra
OK, now I feel better.
Alpha Oops! H Is For HalloweenWritten by Alethea Kontis
Illustrated by Bob Kolar
Candlewick Press, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3966-2
It's time for the Halloween show, and A isn't ready yet. But hey, Halloween starts with H, so who better to get things started? Even mixed-up, this wacky alphabet puts on quite a production!
With something spooky-themed for each letter of the disordered alphabet, this books really keeps you guessing by throwing in some unexpected Halloween words (I'm sorry - kraken and lycanthrope in the same children's book? I hereby crown you KING OF THE ALPHABET BOOKS!). Illustrations are great, with a style that's reminiscent of old-timey Halloween decorations dosed with cuteness.
Definitely a new household favourite for our little monsters, and I'm so glad we stumbled upon it! It's an easy find right now, being new (and well-stocked thanks to the time of year), so grab a copy for your own little beasts!
S.
We don’t know about you, but after a full day of:
a) dealing with copious amounts of people
or
b) washing the bed sheets that your little monster has just puked on (thanks to a trip to a friend’s house that resulted in a 24 hour virus)
...we like to curl up with a good book and lose ourselves in the moment. And what better book to sit down with than a Search-and-Find Alphabet Book that takes place in a quiet, dark, HEALTHY graveyard.
Enter:
Midnight In The Cemetery: A Spooky Search-and-Find Alphabet Book
Hungry Monster ABC by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe
Trying to teach the alphabet to monsters is no simple task, as you'll soon discover in this rhyming tale. Suitable for all ages and available as a board book for the tiniest monster-lovers.
Meet loads of fun monsters in this great book - read our review for more info!
Alphabet Explosion! Search and Count from Alien to Zebra by John Nickle, 2006
There are alphabet books like the traditional, "A is for Apple" and there are puzzle books like Walter Wick's I Spy and Can You See What I See books. Nickle has created an alphabet-puzzle book that is engaging and original.
Each illustration holds a certain number of items. For example, on the "D" page there are 20 D's. I see a dragon, dice, a dolphin, duck, a door, donkey, deer, daisy...diamonds, two animals "dancing," a drop, a dentist...uh...
I am definitely short of the 20. Oh wait, the dragon is dreaming...this is hard!
There are layers of meaning in each illustration. I love the alligator, wearing an apron with the image of an atom on the bib. The pictures enrich vocabulary and reinforce counting.
Nicely done.
There's an interesting article at the online mag Fine Books and Collections about collecting Abecedariums. I can't figure out how to snag the image so you'll have to go look.
You can look at the sample issue for free - to find this article just click contents up at the top. This number also includes a profile of Robert Sabuda, who they dub "the Prince of Pop-ups" and a very interesting Paul Collins piece all about a reprint edition of David Copperfield which includes all the ads which appeared in the original serial printing. Fascinating stuff.
Hey all, I've got a guest blog called "Bookstore Breakup"* up over at Romancing the Blog. It's the first of what will be a monthly commitment. For those of you have no love for the Romance section, worry not, this post applies to anyone who has ever had to breakup with their bookstore.
I'll be back later with an actual column for this blog as well.
Enjoy.
*Now with a link that actually works! I really need to remember not to post before coffee.
“In Adam’s Fall, we sinned all.” That catchy little ditty was from one of the earlier abecedarian picture books for children in America (the 1784 edition of The New England Primer, in case you’re curious). Practically from our nation’s inception, alphabet books were a go-to resource for teaching children to read. Every year more and more of them come out, but how many can you name off the top of your head? Just before typing this I was reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to my son and marveling at how Bill Martin Jr. managed to create an actual honest-to-goodness alphabet classic. I don’t know if any of the books on today’s list will ever hit such heights, but I the alphabet books of 2016 have dabbled in some truly sophisticated fare.
I know a librarian who is so gaga over this book she’ll bring you around to it pretty quickly. There’s just one word a page, and it follows the story of a canine and its dogged (har har) pursuit of a mouse. If you’re looking for a really simple alphabet book with a clear plot and even clearer pictures, this is your best bet. I’ve a lot of really sophisticated alphabet books on this list today so it’s nice to have something on the younger end of the scale as well.
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Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! reminds me a little of Alison Murray’s Apple Pie ABC of a few years ago. An alphabet book that tells a story about a dog.
Now that you mention it, you’re absolutely right. Same level of simplicity. Plus dog.