Heidi's Zoo: An Un-Alphabet Book

In Goennel's latest picture book, her solid fields of color and spare compositions disguise a sophisticated sense of pattern even as they project a playful quality. Each spread here pairs two words (e.g., ``tortoise / hare,'' ``cat / fish,'' ``venus flytrap / rose'') and faces them with full-page art. Graphics are stunning. The words appear on a primarily black page: type has been dropped out and the first letters filled in with color; the same colors reappear to highlight corresponding letters in the otherwise gray alphabet housed along the top and bottom of these verso pages. Even more striking, the paintings reflect an unusually fresh and clear palette, evoking the colors of a sunny garden in full bloom. Verbal pairings and visual details trigger the imagination: a parrot perches on a yak's antler, a zookeeper holding a container of peanuts is approached by the trunk of an otherwise unseen elephant. Readers younger than those in the suggested range will doubtless enjoy this festive volume, too. Ages 6-up. (Apr.)