Kay Kay's Alphabet Safari

Kay Kay lives in the village of Bungoma in the country of Kenya. One day as he is passing by the Star of Hope School, the schoolchildren call out to him. They want to show off their brand-new classroom. When Kay Kay looks at the room with its white walls, he realizes it could use a little artwork.He promises the children that he will paint pictures of animals, from A to Z. That will help the children learn their alphabet. But first he needs to think about this project. So Kay Kay walks through the beautiful Kenyan countryside, looking for inspiration for his animal artwork.As he walks about, he is warmly greeted by many creatures. From the tiny Ant to the huge Hippo to the striped Zebra, everyone wants Kay Kay to stop and visit. But he tells them he is far too busy thinking about his art project to stop. It's only when Kay Kay reaches the end of his walk that he realizes his inspirations are all around him!

Format List Price Your Price Qty
$15.99 $15.99
$27.99 $27.99
Interest Level Grade 1 - Grade 4
Reading Level Grade 3
Dewey E
Lexile AD520L
ATOS Reading Level 3.2
Guided Reading Level J
Language English
Publisher Sleeping Bear Press
Available Formats Hardcover (9781585369058), PDF (9781627537650), Hosted ebook (9781627537919)
Copyright 2014
Number of Pages 40
Dimensions 9 x 9
Graphics Full-color illustrations
  • 2014 Creative Child Award Preferred Choice Kids Books Category, Winner, 2014

Kirkus Reviews - Kay Kay's Alphabet Safari

Themed alphabet books are like the Little Engine that Could—they just keep on comin’.

This one is based on the author/illustrator’s personal experience in Kenya. A young man named Kay Kay promises the children at a new school in his village that he will paint the plain white walls with animals from A to Z. As he walks along looking for inspiration, he meets groups of animals too busy at playing “jackstones” or reading riddles to help. They are obvious (to readers) choices, though Kay Kay doesn’t realize it. As he continues his jaunt, each threesome of animals joins in the trek behind him, ending in a complete animal alphabet. The animals he encounters are highlighted in green: “ ‘Kay Kay, come dance with us!’ shouted Baboon, Crocodile, and Dragonfly.” Most of these animals are relatively familiar, with the possible exceptions of Nyala, Quagga, Upupa Bird, Vervet and Xerus Squirrel. The loosely energetic, cartoon illustrations are lively with capricious details. The backmatter includes a glossary of typical Swahili words such as “please” and “bathroom,” as well as such comic phrases as “My brother picks his nose” and “No more broccoli, thank you.” There is also an author’s note, photos of the real Kay Kay and the Star of Hope School, and a map, but unfortunately there is no key to the animal names.

Kids will enjoy the silliness, and there’s lots of potential for the classroom. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kay Kay's Alphabet Safari - Activity Pages

Refer to download. View →

Author, Illustrator: Dana Sullivan

Dana Sullivan lives near Seattle, where he loves to hike with his wife, Vicki, and dog, Bennie, when he’s not drawing or writing. He wrote and illustrated Ozzie and the Art Contest and Kay Kay’s Alphabet Safari and illustrated the Digger and Daisy early reader series. His favorite animal is the dog, and his favorite vegetable is peanut butter. Since he was a kid, he’s wanted a red velvet cape, and now he has one! See pictures of Dana in his cape and other stuff at www.danajsullivan.com.

Author/Illustrator biography
Detailed maps
Glossary of key words
Full-color illustrations