Susan Harris is an alphabet expert.
The former teacher turned prolific author from Melville has crafted several books focused on the ABCs. She鈥檚 poured over the letters, finding the best words for children to learn about.
鈥淲ords have to be phonetically correct,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 try to be very consistent.鈥�
Harris wants to educate children while entertaining them. She is promoting two alphabet books she wrote last year for the Christmas season. They鈥檙e designed to reach across faiths and beliefs during the holidays.
鈥淚 realized that there was a dichotomy between Santa and Jesus,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted to create something so that everyone would be included in Christmas.鈥�
Harris wrote 鈥淐hristmas A to Z鈥� and 鈥淎n Alphabet of the the First Christmas.鈥� Each book tackles Christmas themes and topics through the alphabet, but through different perspectives.
鈥淐hristmas A to Z鈥� addresses secular Christmas practices and ideas, while 鈥淎n Alphabet for the First Christmas鈥� focuses on Christian traditions during the December holiday.
鈥淚t was a challenge,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 actually only one word that overlaps in each book and it is 鈥榅mas.鈥欌��
Harris began working on the books in November 2015. She didn鈥檛 breeze through the alphabet like most people do; she had to consider all of her word choices.
鈥淚t forces me to think,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t probably took me eight weeks, but it was spread over a year because I gave it thought.鈥�
Harris filled the books with simple words such as 鈥渁dvent鈥� along with more complicated ones like 鈥渇rankincense.鈥� Photos accompany each word.
鈥淵ou can begin to talk about colours and shapes [with a child],鈥� she said. 鈥淚 write books that children can grow into.鈥�
Harris doesn鈥檛 followed the 鈥渓eveled reading鈥� system, which bases the difficulty of a book on a child鈥檚 age. Harris鈥� books aim to be accessible for a wide range of kids.
鈥淚 find that the leveled readers are too limiting,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y books diverge from the routine.鈥�
Harris鈥� alphabet books have been read in dozens of classrooms.
鈥淭eachers and schools love my books,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey trust what I do, having been a teacher in the system.鈥�
Harris鈥� next writing project will be quite a departure from her ABCs literature. She鈥檚 working on a non-fiction piece about near-death experiences, something she鈥檚 encountered herself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 happened to me three times,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o talk about my illnesses...it鈥檚 sacred ground.
鈥淚t was a very big decision.鈥�
When it comes to her alphabet books, Harris wants to spark children鈥檚 curiosity.
鈥淚 hope to inspire [kids] to become educators,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ducation is about learning new things.
鈥淚t鈥檚 critical to our development.鈥�
