The ABCs explode in a creative flurry of color and cadence in this stimulating mix of contemporary abstract images and playful jazz lingo. Shahan's (Feeding Time at the Zoo) alliterative text incorporates music jargon in each dynamic spread. "Saxophone S is swingin,'/ so scuff your shiny shoes./ Shimmy and shake to/ the scat man blues!" For each letter, debut artist Thelen cleverly incorporates items ranging from the expected (zebra) to the unexpected (zither) on each purposefully busy spread. The focus letter, in a distinct bright color, stands out within black text that routinely dances up and down the page. Thelen orchestrates vivid hues and geometric shapes, often employing a scribbled backdrop for scintillating collage scenes; one spare scene of a "fat cat/ shuffl[ing]/ to a fine/ funky beat" as an elephant plays horn on Ellington Street, gives a nod to Matisse's jazz collages in its palette and mood. An African-American boy on harmonica and a blue cat make frequent appearances throughout the pages, taking time out to jam with the animal musicians (including a beret-wearing bear strumming a B-shaped bass). The rhymes may be uneven (e.g., for the letter U: "U do, I do,/ upbeat u do./ Utmost jam host!"), but the tempo swings. New and whimsical discoveries await each toe-tapping visit to this book, though the very young may have trouble finding the alphabet hidden under all the jazzy dressing. A sassy improvisation on the abecedarian theme. Ages 2-5. (June)
