Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Inspiring vocabulary and illustrations but difficult rhymes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
A IS FOR AMBITIOUS is an ABC book of rhymes full of powerful messages about working hard toward your goals and supporting others who are doing the same. Each letter of the alphabet -- O is for opinionated, P is for Persistent, Q is for Quirky -- is on colorful pages, helping readers see ambition in a positive light.
Is It Any Good?
The illustrations are engaging and inclusive and the message is wonderfully inspiring, but the uneven rhyming makes this picture book a little hard to follow. In A Is for Ambitious, words such as "determined," "headstrong," "intense," and "vulnerable" are a great framework for talking about what that means in everyday life. The sentences that go with those letters, however, are a bumpy read and are hard to follow. This is a great book for discussions in families and groups, and introduces some helpful vocabulary ("unyielding," "emotional") not often seen in young readers' picture books.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what they want to do in their lives, like the people in A Is for Ambitious. What jobs interest you? What do you like to learn about in school and at home?
What can stand in the way of someone chasing their dreams?
What can we do to help each other achieve and be ambitious?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Marissa Valdez
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Activism
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : March 14, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Hardback
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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