Intellectual Property help needed

The following is not legal advice and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action.

You should read up on the basics of copyright protection, not only to reach your own conclusion as to your question, but to understand how and what will be copyright protected in your book. Author's have an obligation to themselves and their fellow artists to learn copyright law basics -- and the basics of the other business components of their art -- so as to not tread on others' rights. The Copyright Office has prepared a number of guides and fact sheets at http://tinyurl.com/dfkzc4 and http://tinyurl.com/38yhhe. You should also go to amazon.com, query "author law," and buy a few books on the subject.

The direct answer to your question is that short phrases of the kind you note are not protectable under copyright law. Each is free to be used by everyone. Note, however, that that does not mean you may freely reproduce someone else's twenty-six creative mnemonics for remembering the alphabet: reproducing that compilation would be an infringement. One or two, sure, but any more than that and you enter a gray zone that your own copyright attorney would need to guide you through.

The below does not constitute legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship.

I agree with Mr. Ballard's response regarding the use of the individual phrases and the potential copyright protection for them, and add the link below to Copyright Office Circular 34 on the subject of short phrases. I also note that the photographs you take to illustrate the phrases are, most likely, protected by copyright as well. See the link for a Copyright Office Circular 40 regarding works of the visual arts, which includes photographs.