ABC Books

A. B. C. D. Unfold the full-page flaps to reveal an ant, bear, camel, and duck! Eric Carle’s illustrated alphabet and animals make learning your ABCs as easy as . . . well, A, B, C!

In this salute to California, you’ll find an alphabet of things — from Alcatraz to Zorro — that represent the Golden State. Each illustrated spread includes a short rhyme and an in-depth explanation of the item associated with that letter and its place in California history. With both types of text, students of all reading levels will get something out of this book. Look for other state books by the same publisher, including ones about Texas, Vermont, Alaska, and Michigan.

Using the letters of the Spanish alphabet, Ada has written 27 poems that appear in both Spanish and English. These poems honor the lives, experiences, and culture of the Spanish-speaking people who work the farmland of the American West. Silva’s vivid paintings reflect his Mexican heritage and his life as a child working on farms.

From anemones to zooplankton, Rose’s simple, rhyming text introduces readers to an alphabet of sea creatures that cling, sting, prance, prey, dive, and thrive across these beautifully illustrated pages. Jenkins’s amazing paper collages fill each page with marine animals and plants. A glossary tells readers more about the sea life they discover throughout the book.

Here’s a unique combination of alphabet book and poetry introduction. Harley provides readers with 26 poems and illustrations about tiny creatures, from ants to zebra butterflies. Each poem illustrates a different poetic form or technique, from alliteration to zejel, with forms defined at the bottom of each page. Additional poetic forms can be found in Harley’s companion book, Fly With Poetry (Boyds Mills, 2000).

Readers will laugh out loud as a pesky fly annoys family members, contaminates food, and is altogether a bother around the house. “He ate on the crust of the Apple pie. He bothered the Baby and made her cry. Shoo fly! Shoo fly! Shooo.” Aylesworth’s catchy, rhythmic refrain encourages kids to chant along, and Gammell’s wacky pictures with rainbow-colored splatters will keep their eyes dancing.

Science fans (and science phobes!), here’s a fun, readable book that introduces science terms with one topic per letter, including black hole, immune system, Occam’s razor, and xylem. Witty cartoon illustrations on each page will keep readers of all ages amused. For further scientific explanations, the glossary defines additional terms — from absolute zero to zygote.

The ABCs have never had it so good—created by two of today’s wittiest, most imaginative minds, OUR ALPHABET BOOK is a sheer delight from A to Z. In twenty-six alliterative couplets, Steve Martin conjures up much more than mere apples and zebras; instead we meet Horace the Hare, whose hairdo hides hunchbacks, and Ollie the Owl, who owed Owen an oboe. Roz Chast contributes the perfect visual settings for Martin’s zany two-liners. Her instantly recognizable drawings are packed with humorous touches both broad and subtle.