This book will make learning, fun for you and your kids!! "Down On the Corner of Alphabet Street" (starring Mr. H) has been tested both in classrooms and in homes by parents reading with their children. It has proven to be an educational and entertaining tool in dealing with a teaching and learning, stumbling block, in a way you'll never forget!
Written by Dave Costarella
Illustrated by Jaime Novicki
About the authors click here
To purchase "Down On the Corner of Alphabet Street" 8 1/2" x 11" please send (postage and handling included) $22.00 check or money order to:
Dave Costarella
924 First Street
Lancaster, PA 17603
for more information, or to inquire about publishing, please click here to email Dave Costarella.
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Down on the corner of Alphabet Street
Where the numbers won't go, but the letters all meet
Few Hang out alone, most gather in groups
In Clusters and gangs and alphabet soups.
When they hang out together on days that are warm,
Syllables, words, and sentences form.
You can tell some of the leaders, they're bigger in size,
Bolder in print, and capitalized
but the one with the power, the brains as they say,
Is sneaky and sly and stays out of the way.
Mr. "H" is the letter, the one with the clout.
The type that your mother has warned you about!
He's quiet and gentle when no one's around,
But when some stand beside him he changes their sound.
I think that he's jealous, of those who are strong.
'Cause they sound so much weaker when "H" is along.
He started with "C" "G" "P" & "S",
Then the "T" and the "W" and he wants more I guess.
Because others are nervous. At least one or two,
Mr. "Q" won't come out, without taking the "U".
They say, "H" has been angry, since the beginning of time.
The only letter made with no words that rhyme.
So Children and parents, beware when you meet,
Mr. "H", he's the bully of Alphabet Street.
Back to the top of page. Click here to learn about the authors
About the Authors
I realized the importance of the alphabet and its power at a young age. My mother was probably the most vocal influence at that time. In fact she would bring it up at the most inopportune times, like when my brothers and I would be having a stick fight or B-B gun battle, she would interrupt and tell us that we boys wouldn’t be happy until one of us lost an I. Finally we figured if it was that important to her we ought to make it happen. So we all talked about it and decided that I was really the only one with an expendable I, from that day on I was David no longer. Hec, Dave is not that bad of a name, I look at it as a small sacrifice for the well being of my family. And yes, we’ve all been relatively happy ever since.
With that in mind, knowing my appreciation for letters, imagine how I felt when I when I heard that “H” was getting a bad reputations for being sneaky, and manipulative. My first reaction was “what could have brought a seemingly mild mannered, upper case, middle class letter to such a dismal fate?” Then the investigative journalist in me took over. I knew I had to go into the alphabet world to get to the bottom of this. I was going to put a tail on him, but in the alphabet world, the only letter that a tail ever works on is y and a few other lower case letters in a cursive situation, but a tail on an H would be noticed in an instant. The only thing to do was to go under cover, because, on their turf, letters and people just don’t mix well. It’s tough to get them to say anything. I also needed some back up. Someone that could handle the visuals and wouldn’t fold under pressure.
Knowing that you can’t photograph letters in their natural state, (they only show up in balloons and captions) the only one for the job was, world renowned, court sketch artist,
Jaime Novicki! She’s as tough as she is pretty, and she knows the alphabet inside and out.
We went in on a warm Saturday afternoon, disguised as a couple of comas, you might have heard that we had words between us, but that’s just part of the job on such a dangerous mission. Our coma costumes seemed to be working. We were able to mingle freely and converse with out drawing much attention to ourselves. Usually the letters would pause when we got there, and then just continue with another thought.
Well I’m happy to tell you that the mission was a success. As a reporter, I don’t think that you’re ever really prepared for some of the answers to your questions, but you have to ask. I present this book to you as an accurate account of what Jaime and I witnessed. We solved the “H” mystery, but there are many more stories and cases to be solved..…Down On The Corner OF Alphabet Street.
Enjoy!
Dave Costarella
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