Alphabeasts

Linda Ludke is a librarian at the London Public Library.

From “A is for Alligator, / awake from a dream” to “Z is for
Zebra, / taking a bath,” the entries in this book take readers on a
delightfully surreal journey through the rooms of an ornately decorated
Victorian mansion and through the alphabet. The rhyming couplets are
witty and offer double meanings. “E is for Elephant, / on the right
track” shows a toy train running up the pachyderm’s long trunk. “H
is for Hippo, / preparing to play” shows a huge hippopotamus moving
toward a violin resting on a tiny, delicate drawing-room chair.

Wallace Edwards’s spectacular watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are
a visual treat and each animal’s unique personality emanates off the
page. In “C is for Cat, / who reflects on its self,” a Siamese
regally perches on a vanity and looks at a mirror image of a tiger. We
see only half of the shy unicorn, as he runs behind a drawing of himself
that hands on a wall. A dreamy-eyed rhinoceros rests his head in a
corner of an empty room as he “daydream[s] for hours.” Children will
also be fascinated by such exotic creatures as the ibis, quetzal, and
xenosaur.

Alphabeasts is an imaginative alphabet book and a unique addition to
the genre. Highly recommended.