cover image Alphaprints: ABC

Alphaprints: ABC

Sarah Powell, illus. by Jo Ryan. Macmillan/Priddy, $9.99 (28p) ISBN 978-0-312-51646-8

From ant to zebra, this abecedarian board book collects 26 animals. While the animals are familiar, Ryan’s portraits stand out, combining embossed thumbprints for animal heads and bodies with unexpected photographic elements. “I is for Iguana/ That loves to climb trees,” opens one spread; the iguana’s spines consist of crayon tips, while a neighboring jellyfish has gummy worm tendrils. A unicorn with an ice-cream cone horn and a newt with fried-egg eyes also pop up in this quirky, eye-catching collection. Up to age 3. (Sept.)