cover image An Alphabet in Five Acts: 1

An Alphabet in Five Acts: 1

Karen Born Andersen. Dial Books, $13.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8037-1440-3

Just when young readers might think they have seen it all, this zippy picture book--like The ABC Mystery (see review above)--adds some creative zing to the ABCs. The framework here is unique: five sentences of five words each present the letters of the alphabet in sequence and, along the way, form distinct, amusing scenarios. For example, young pilot ``Karl Lands Mostly Near Oceans.'' Born's photocollage artwork is visually challenging and begs repeated observation. Hand-tinted photographs of people and animals are set into a framed illustration on each page; bold uppercase initial letters highlight the single word that occupies the upper left hand corner. While the intended audience may be turned off by the idea of an alphabet book, the word play here offers plenty of fun and could be used as a jumping-off point for kids to create silly sentences of their own. A Bouncy Clever Debut Edition. Ages 5-up. (Sept.)