From Apple to Zipper

``A'' is for alphabet book (see also reviews below), and ``B,'' in this case, is for belabored. Cohen's text is innocuous enough (``Q is for Quilt to warm up my toes. R is for Ribbon to tie into bows''), but the letters of Kern's alphabet, each the focal point of a page, don't fit the layout. Each letter is fashioned, surreally, from the object associated with it. Disconcertingly realistic renderings of three keys form the ``K,'' an opened egg swims inside a gray, carton-like ``E''; the ``M'' is a maze with a mouse scurrying through it. The drably colored but busy text and borders that frame each letter, however, accentuate the garish tones of the art. A poster included with the book shows only the letters of Kern's alphabet, as it was originally designed in 1989; thus assembled, patterns emerge among the color choices and symmetry is restored. Too bad it was disassembled. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)