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By Darren Sardelli

The letter A is awesome!
It simply is the best.
Without an A, you could not get
an A+ on a test.
You’d never see an acrobat
or eat an apple pie.
You couldn’t be an astronaut
or kiss your aunt goodbye.
An antelope would not exist.
An ape would be unknown.
You’d never hear a person
say “Afraid” or “All Alone.”
The A’s in avacado
would completely disappear
and certain words would be forgot
like “ankle,” “arm,” and “ear.”

Without the A, you couldn’t aim
an arrow in the air.
You wouldn’t ask for apricots
or almonds at a fair.
Aruba and Austrailia
would be missing from a map.
You’d never use an ATM,
an apron, or an app.
The arctic fox and aardvark
would be absent from the zoo,
and vowels, as you know them,
would be E, I, O, and U.
There wouldn’t be an A chord
on the instruments you play.
Let’s appreciate, admire
and applaud the letter A!

Darren Sardelli’s poem, “The Letter A” is a wonderful tool for fostering early literacy and letter recognition in young children. From acrobats to astronauts, from apples to apricots, the letter A takes center stage in many words. By engaging with this playful poem, children can discover the letter A as the powerhouse of the alphabet and explore the countless words and ideas that begin with the letter A. Here are some ideas for how you and your child can enjoy this poem together:

1. Highlight instances of the words in the poem that begin with A. Then, look around the room and find items in your surroundings that also begin with A.
2. Pick out the rhyming words. Rhymes provide perfect opportunity to recognize sounds and learn how letters work together.
3. Talk about all the different vocabulary words. “The Letter A” introduces children to many different words from everyday objects they know like apples or apricots to more advanced words like astronaut and acrobat. Talk about these words and what they mean.
4. Celebrate the letter A! Focusing on a specific letter helps children develop a deeper understanding of how letters come together to form words, sentences and stories.

Exposing your child to various types of literature including picture books, poems and magazine articles helps to ignite a passion for language and literacy. Every time you read together with your child, you build the foundation they for a lifelong learning and literacy.