ALPHABET ANIMALS

The alphabet’s been good to MacDonald, who won a Caldecott Honor for Alphabatics (1986), and she has certainly returned the favor. Her latest abecedarian effort is a very simple toy/movable book for very young readers. It’s a guessing-game/puzzle book of animals, each representing, in the shape it assumes and the initial character of its name, an uppercase letter of the alphabet. Every clean, colorful, crisply graphic page is actually a pocket in which is concealed a sliding card revealing the letter hinted at by the animal, along with that creature’s name. A is for Alligator; B (one of MacDonald’s favorite avian-shape letters) is for Bird. Although it’s relatively sturdy, this striking book may not long endure the rigors of rough handling, but that shouldn’t prevent librarians and educators from purchasing. Just know that curious little hands may not be able to resist investigating those pockets to learn what makes them work. A coup of concept, color and construction. (Picture book/toy book. 2-6)