ANIMALS FROM A TO Z

This board book features a total of 26 animals from North, Central, and South America, one for each letter of the alphabet.

Each animal is simply presented: “A is for Alligator”; “H is for Hummingbird”; “K is for Kangaroo Rat”; and “Z is for Zebra Longwing Butterfly.” Given the limited text on each spread, it is the stylized illustrations that carry the book. The colors are vibrant in artwork that has a flat, posterlike sensibility. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t quite deliver. Perhaps the shortcoming lies in the North America–heavy choice of animals; there is not enough exploration, as the subtitle suggests, of animals in the Americas as a whole. A guide at the back of the book indicates if each animal makes its home in North, Central, or South America, and 20 out of 26 are either only in North America or also from North America. The lone Central American animal represents the letter Q: “Q is for Quetzal.” (This feels inevitable, because not many other animal names begin with Q.) Only two animals are just from South America: the uakari monkey and the x-ray fish, the latter (like the quetzal) perhaps also a perfunctory choice. It is a lost opportunity to introduce children in the United States to more animals from Central and South America.

“Exploring the Americas” is a misnomer, but the artwork is delightful.