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"Xiomara the Xiphodon" brings Sally Lee Baker near to the end of the alphabet. As a storyteller, author and illustrator Sally wrote her first tongue twisters for kids using the letter “B” in a Writing for Juveniles class in college. After marrying, raising two girls, then reading to grandchildren, she was inspired to write alliterative stories using each letter of the alphabet.
As a library clerk at her local public school, she had many opportunities to read to students and note which books were well received and which were not. With one daughter and family near Edmonton, Alberta, Sally takes advantage of visits there to read in other public schools.
Sally and her husband, Ted, have retired as missionaries, from SEND International and live near their other daughter and family in Faro, Yukon Territory of Canada.
Reviewed by Lois J Wickstrom for Readers' Favorite
Sally Lee Baker is up to the letter X in her series of alphabet stories. Xiomara the Xiphodon, written and illustrated by Sally Lee Baker, is filled with words that either start with or include the letter X. I even learned a new word. Xenodochy is another word for gathering or party. And it’s the perfect word for an experimental party designed to attract xiphodons, who are supposed to be extinct. I even learned about a type of flower I’ve never seen: Xyris, a three-petalled yellow flower that grows all over the world. Now that I know how to recognize them, I’ll be looking for them. I might find a xyris, but I doubt I’ll find a xiphodon. They really are extinct.
Do you know a child (or an adult) who loves alphabet books? Are they tired of xylophones and x-rays and x-ing x’s? If so, Xiomara the Xiphodon by Sally Lee Baker is sure to appeal. Experts think xiphodons, which are a camel-like mammal, are extinct but that doesn’t stop the two armadillos, Xerxes and Xavier, from finding a friend for Xiomara, who thinks she is the only extant xiphodon. Her new xiphodon friend’s name is Xander. The story is comprised of words that have as many x’s as possible. For example: “You have already exceeded our expectations, as experts expect xiphodons to be extinct,” explained Xerxes. The letter X truly gets its due. And all the x’s in the book are in bold type, so they stand out and are easy to recognize.
