Animal Albums from A to Z

K-Gr 3–A retro spin on the alphabet in this ode to vinyl music. In her opening note, Bell discusses her love of albums from the 1940s to the 1980s, particularly those by animal musicians! What follows is a series of album covers and song lyrics from 26 fanciful recording artists. Playing with genres and decades, the album covers and liner-note lyrics feature barbershop quartets in striped blazers and mind-bending psychedelic fonts and color. The letter M introduces Mandy and the Meerkats: dressed in matching pink dresses and sporting beehive hairdos, their featured song, “I’m in the Mood for Mustard” has a “doo-wah, doo-wah” chorus call-back to the golden age of Motown. A QR code gives readers the opportunity to listen to these “original” songs. An “About the Artists” section hilariously continues the fun, with tidbits that will have children and their tuned-in adults howling.