A is for Animals

This latest entrant in the alphabet book field puts a twist on the subject. Each page of the tall, narrow volume contains two boldly colored squares printed with a letter. A lift of the flap reveals a pop-up animal with its name in bold type. While the pop-up constructions are technically well designed, the palette and composition of the illustrations are drab and somewhat dated. Readers may be confused by the more exotic examples such as ``narwal,'' ``quetzal'' and ``xenops'' but will nevertheless enjoy the 3-D depictions. Ages 3-6. (May)