Review by Deborah K. Frontiera
Addie the German Shepherd and her Historical Red Ball: My Little Yooper ABCs Book, a sweet alphabet book for three to five-year-olds, has what you’d look for in an alphabet book centered on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The author includes the state flower, tree, bird, and fish among many other U.P. and state highlights. Each page also has interesting facts in simple language. For example, the “S” page: “S is for shoreline. A shoreline is where water meets land. Michigan has so many miles of shoreline due to our Great Lakes.” The page for “J”, Jack Pine, tells how these trees help a forest recover after a fire. The page for “X” is a bit of a stretch, but so it is for any alphabet book. The inclusion of quartz for the letter “Q” is unique, and it works so well.
The illustrations are colorful, eye-catching and young child friendly. Details are accurate to what is depicted. The red plaid shown on several pages is very Yooper. The drawings of Addie, the dog, look like the photo on the back cover and express the dog’s personality. From the title and cover illustration, I was expecting to see that red ball somewhere on each page, perhaps hiding to provide a game to look for it in each illustration. I was disappointed to see that it was not the case.
While Addie the German Shepherd and her Historical Red Ball: My Little Yooper ABCs Book is easy to find on Amazon, along with the rest of the series, people looking for a place to order multiple copies or ask permission to quote the book outside of a review, might have a hard time because the author did not include any publishing information, website, or address anywhere in the book. Otherwise, it may be a good addition to any child’s library.
Addie the German Shepherd and her Historical Red Ball: My Little Yooper ABCs Book
By Chloe Platias
ISBN: 979-8-275406-788, January 2026, no publisher name or address listed, Amazon price $13.99 paperback
