I was inspired by one of my grandsons, Eugene, to write a book after I had assisted him with making one. Being that the last fourteen years I had spent teaching preschoolers, I had viewed and read books on letters. I saw a need to create one with a different and interesting title. I knew you could alter a few letters to create other letters. However, while pondering that idea, I learned that every letter could be altered to create another letter. So the thought about twins come in twos or doubles. That thought led to the title Fraternal Letters. I created the book and thought I would have enjoyed having such a book in my room to teach letter recognition to my three-, four-, and five-year-olds had it been available. I read the book to two grandsons and had a granddaughter read it with positive feedback. That led to the idea of publication.

著者のルーシー・ジョンソン・トーマス・トンプソンは、長年の幼児教育の経験から文字の形態に潜む「血縁関係」を見出しました。本作は単なるアルファベットの紹介に留まらず、一つの形が他へと変容する文字の可塑性を、二卵性双生児という鮮烈な比喩で描き出しています。記号を生命力ある造形として捉え直す視点は、言語の根源に触れるような文学的驚きに満ちています。 文字の構造美と子供たちの視覚認識を融合させた本作は、教育現場で磨かれた感性の結晶です。形が変化していくプロセスには、発見の喜びが凝縮されています。文字の境界が揺らぐ瞬間に立ち会うことで、読者は知的好奇心を激しく揺さぶられ、見慣れた文字たちが躍動する物語として立ち上がってくるのを実感するでしょう。