$12.00 Vtech Alphabet Apple-In order to read, a child must first learn to recognize and identify the letters of the alphabet and then match the letters with their respective sounds. The Alphabet Apple can help with this challenging process. It has a keyboard made up of all 26 letters arranged in alphabetical order. A child simply touches any one of the keys to elicit the names and sounds of each letter (including short- and long-vowel sounds). Children can develop hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and letter-identification abilities by finding each letter on the keyboard. Each key has an uppercase letter and a picture of an object starting with that letter (for example, "A" for ant). Although this lightweight gadget has plenty to offer the budding pre-reader and preschooler, it would be optimal for the development of future reading skills if the letters were lowercase