THE ABSOLUTELY AWFUL ALPHABET

Mordicai Gerstein, . . Harcourt/Voyager, $6 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-15-216343-3

"With each letter more hideous and mean than the last, this alphabet will supply kids with an abundance of insults. Gerstein panders to the baser impulses with gleeful good cheer. The bright oil portraits of the vile characters may well fire young imaginations," wrote PW. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)

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