Alphamals: A—Z

PreS-Gr 2—Poetry and a smidgen of science combine for an effective alphabet picture book. There is a comfortable mix of movement, color, and information here. Readers learn that the giraffe snatches her leaf dinner with her black tongue, the ladybug's bright redness warns off predators, and the jaguar's spots camouflage it. The bold art features familiar animals (elephant, fox, penguin, and zebra) and unexpected ones (dragonfly, hedgehog, quoll, and urial). Carter depicts a range of habitats, from the Amazon to the savanna and the forest to the tundra. The artwork is often heightened in complexity by geometric design and textures. For example, the swan's wing is a compass, but will young readers be entranced? The blend of the art, poetry, and science expands this possibility, but for the intended age group, the work will likely have to be broken up into installments.