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The Illustrated Phonics Booklet fills a yawning gap in materials currently available to parents, classroom teachers, and children. This volume gives explanations of "phonics" that not only reveals the full complexity of the English spelling system but is intelligible to children as well as adults.

Young children are usually introduced to reading through the familiar "alphabet books," which match alphabetical letters to the initial sounds of key words, such as "C is for cat," and provide illustrations of the key word. But since such books are aimed at the very young, the only letter-sound correspondences (LSCs) they present are the most common sound of each letter. Children are informed that the letter C represents the sound "kuh" in the word cat, but they are rarely told that C can also represent the sound "sss," as it does in the word cent. The aim of the Booklet is to present the full complexity of the English spelling system in a way that even children can grasp.

Research has revealed what common sense discovered long ago: namely, that the most valuable activity that parents can undertake to foster their children's reading acquisition is to read children's books aloud with them. Most children, however, need some formal instruction to grasp the connection between letters and the speech sounds that letters represent. This is what we hope the Booklet will achieve. Virginia Cantarella's delightful illustrations of key words for each pronunciation make the complexities of the English spelling system palatable.