Published by Dial Books

Summary:  The letters are pretty happy living in their walled city, even though they are all H’s.  One little h, though, is a bit more adventurous.  When she finds a hole in the wall, she discovers an i, and together they make a friendly “hi”.  A big H seals up the hole, so the small h starts sending letters on paper airplanes flown over the wall.  Soon other small letters start participating, and more and more words are formed (and tic-tac-toe games become more interesting).  When the big letters put an end to things again, the h uses the two letters she has left to come up with a plan.  Finally, even the big letters start to cautiously reach out to one another.  “How do you tear down walls? With words at first. Then brick by brick.” 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  I thought this was going to be just another alphabet book, but there’s a deeper message, focusing on appreciating others’ differences and learning to live together.  Of course, the letter part is fun, too, seeing how the letters get together to form words.  Beginning readers will enjoy exercising their new skills and will come away with a positive message as well.

Cons:  Those are some cranky uppercase letters.