The Best Smelling Alphabet Book Ever

An appeal to the ears, nose and eyes, this picture book takes a gastronomical, delightfully silly-if not entirely educational-trip through the alphabet. Mice, inviting themselves into a house, attempt to eat their way ``from a to z'': ``almost lost in applesauce... lingered over linguini... topsy-turvy for taffy.'' Nine scratch-and-sniff stickers allow readers to explore some of the more pleasant aromas (pizza and mints get a sticker, olives and oysters don't); the smells are thickly sweet but recognizable. The comical illustrations portray the mice gorging on, chasing after, playing with and even wearing the food. While this book may reinforce alphabet awareness, it's not a great introductory lesson. The letters in question, not highlighted, blend in with the other letters on the page, and only lower-case letters are shown. Ages 3-8. (Oct.)