David McPhail's Animals A to Z - Softcover

PreSchool-K Lush watercolor and ink draw ings in purples, blues, and greens enrich this lively and appealing animal alpha bet. Each of the 26 full-page illustrations contains an animal and usually one or more other images whose names begin with the same letter. The animals (all but the ant) are identified on the final page, and a good thing, too, for who would have recognized the upside-down cat fish (an African species) or the Xenops (a small species of the ovenbird family)? Illustrations invite close examination and are notable for their color, composi tion, and the mini-dramas many of them contain. All are surrounded by generous white margins, with black-line borders broken by the top of each upper-case letter (and often by the illustrations it self). One quibble: those upper-case let ters might have been bolder for easier recognition by very young ``readers.'' Still, this is a charming and quite suc cessful first alphabet book, square and solid, and just right for little hands. Marcia Hupp, The Ferguson Lib . , Stam ford, Conn.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For each letter of the alphabet, a host of animals familiar and exotic (, and a variety of inanimate objects as well), are integrated into a single composition. Readers can check their identification skills against a list provided at the end (although the compiler seems to have overlooked the ant that, in the opening painting, is nose-to-nose with an armadillo). Rendered in McPhail's characteristic ink line and gentle watercolor wash, this is an artistically fine, aesthetically pleasing work. It is not, however, a particularly original or inventive vehicle for introducing and exploring the alphabet, either in its overall concept or in the artist's choice of detail. Though some paintings display a quiet humor, many others have a melancholic tinge, and on the whole this is a rather controlled, subdued alphabet. Longtime fans may miss the animation and unbounded exuberance that distinguish much of McPhail's work. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.