AN AFRICAN ALPHABET

An elegant African bestiary, from the familiar to the exotic.

This eye-catching compendium of African fauna should delight young readers and instill an awareness of the Earth’s diversity of habitat and species. Animals featured range from such standard favorites as the Aardvark, Elephant, Hippo, Lion, and Zebra to the more exotic, unfamiliar, or strange. Dd (each letter is represented in both upper- and lowercase) is for Dik-Dik, for example, Nn for Nandine, Oo for Okapi, and Pp for Pangolin. Because caregivers may encounter creatures of which they have never heard mention, a trip to the dictionary or a little Googling might help with pronunciation and information on the book’s more esoteric entries, as there is no glossary or other backmatter. As there are multiple notable animals for certain letters of the alphabet, author Walters sometimes gets creative. Since Gg is for Giraffe, readers learn later that Uu is for Upland Gorilla. Xavier’s Greenbul and the Yellow-Spotted Rock Hyrax are Xx and Yy respectively. Of course, the real star of this show is the gorgeous, brightly colored artwork that brings these creatures to life. Expressive faces and motion lines convey presence and power; rich colors and striking landscapes evoke the vigor of the continent. The bold lines of illustrator Todd’s linoleum etchings have the classic power of woodblock prints. Images are clear and easily grasped; each is a striking work of art in itself. Even the alphabetic characters have the etched, stylized calligraphic look of block printing.

A gorgeous alphabet for young adventurers.