Daytime Visions: An Alphabet

Isol, winner of the 2013 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, delivers a sophisticated alphabet book built around semi-abstract illustrations and short, pensive phrases. Loose, chalky lines and choppy paper-collage elements introduce a cast of human and animal characters in scenarios that feel like miniature stories in themselves. “Come on!” reads one page, as a child stares at a potted planet, willing it to grow; on the K page, a boy awakens in bed to find a bright blue bird standing on his back: “The kiwi again!” And as animals with rough brushstrokes for bodies leap across a spread, the creature at the head of the pack is “uneasy”—is he a nervous leader or being chased? With understated poetry and humor, Isol challenges readers to bring their own interpretations to each composition. Ages 2–7. (May)