ABC and all about D
ABC and all about D
Nina Ulmaja, illustrated by Nina UlmajaHurrah for the alphabet – mankind’s most important invention!
Five thousand years ago, not a single person could read or write
There weren’t any letters of the alphabet!
Try to imagine what it would be like today if we didn’t have any letters of the alphabet. You wouldn’t be sitting here reading this book! And I wouldn’t have written it. We would be busy with completely different things than reading and writing. And that would be OK, but there is so much that wouldn’t work at all without letters. Mankind’s invention of the letters of the alphabet has probably meant more for the development of humanity than when we learnt to control fire or invented the wheel.
With the letters of the alphabet we can describe things about our life and what we have around us. We can send messages to people we have never met. And we can write down things so it will be easier to remember them. The letters of the alphabet help us to remember. For example a doctor can read about how to cure a particular illness and doesn’t have to ponder: Umm, now let me think – is this the right medicine to cure this illness? And the people who have made the medicine don’t have to follow their gut feeling to get the right mixture. They can write down what should be included, and they can read what the doctor orders. That’s simply brilliant, and safe too!
Letters of the alphabet are considered to be among the most important things we teach our children today. Yet not many of us who already can read are able to say why the letters of the alphabet look like they do when children ask. My children asked me simple questions about letters and the alphabet and I realised how little I could answer them straight off. Even though I have a good education and work with letters every day! I started to collect alphabet questions and facts and decided to find out ‘everything’ about letters of the alphabet. This is my collection which ended up being a whole book.
Who decided that the letter O should sound like oooooo? Why does the letter B look like a bottom?
Which letter is the most common? Who invented the alphabet?
You will soon find out, and lots more besides…
/Nina Ulmaja
