ABC Dream

October 5, 2015
Newcomer Krans’s wordless alphabet book creates an atmosphere of meditative calm. She works in black ink, devoting meticulous attention to each object, drawing hedgehog quills and jellyfish tendrils with something like scientific precision. An apple, pierced with two arrows, balances atop the letter A. An apple core below attracts ants, and in another bonus the A is argyle. B has a butterfly, a branch, and a braid of dark hair tied with a blue bow. Some letters get full spreads: for F, a fox gazes up at two large goldfish, who swim above it in a way that makes the page seem, bewitchingly, to be made of water. Ferns appear in close-up, and fireflies flicker around the edges. Working together, parents and children will find many things to name and talk about. Even those who go through the book alone may find themselves involuntarily identifying items in the drawings just for the fun of it. A list of objects (and actions) in the back will settle any questions that arise; the unicorn, it points out, is upside-down. Ages 3–7. Agent: Meg Thompson, Thompson Literary Agency.

October 1, 2015
A wordless alphabet book becomes an identification game. It's the ink-and-watercolor illustrations that set this apart from others of its ilk, with striking page compositions that will engage readers. Each capital letter dominates the page, most in double-page spreads and often decorated, with white backgrounds that dramatize the objects it stands for. At first glance there seems to be only one or two items per letter. On a closer look, other items appear. On top of the letter A, for instance, are two arrows piercing a whole apple, while at the bottom, scads of ants attack an eaten apple core. Kids will easily name the apple, ants, and arrows but are likely to miss the argyle plaid that fills in the letter. Other letters are also textured with fabrics or wood. There aren't many surprises for the "difficult" letters: Q is for Quail, Quarters, Queen, and Quilt pattern; U is for Unicorn (depicted Upside-down); X is for X-ray; Y is for Yarn; and Z is for Zigzag, Zinnia, and Zebra. Even when the items depicted are fairly unimaginative, though, the execution is superb, and the Goose sitting in Grass watching Grasshoppers gambol on the G makes up for a lot. A two-page key at the back identifies each of the items. On the whole, sophisticated, subtle, and stunning. (Alphabet book. 5-8)

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February 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Artistic pages and layouts carry readers through each capital letter of the alphabet in this visually engaging, wordless picture book. Drawn in bold black lines with rich washes of color, each spread features a letter with appropriate, but unlabeled, objects surrounding it in a striking still life. An apple perches atop the bold, argyle-patterned "A" and is struck through by arrows. The scene is crawling with ants. Each letter commands attention, and the closer readers look, the more there is to notice and recognize by first letter association. Each letter stands for a varying number of things on the page, but two letters have only one: X is an X-ray, and Y is tangled with yarn. Discoveries range from obvious to quite challenging, but there is a key to each letter in the back. The rich imagery and smart page design make this alphabet book a pleasure to spend time enjoying. VERDICT This visual treat encourages careful observation for those youngsters beginning to explore alphabet word games and first letter sounds.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2015
Preschool-G *Starred Review* This stunning wordless alphabet book will be a joy for old and young to enjoy together. Pages and spreads feature large-scale letters in uppercase surrounded by unlabeled images in artistic arrangements. Adults will appreciate the design and the washes of watercolor in Krans' intricate black-and-white pen-and-ink art. Children, meanwhile, will be fascinated by the beautifully rendered objects that Krans cleverly includes in each spread. Some are easy to identify, such as an apple, arrow, and ant for A; others will spark discussion. D is for dog, and that dog is a Dalmatian surrounded by dandelions, dragonflies, and diamonds. Look close: the quail pictured in the quilted Q is a queen. A mouse admires his handsome whiskers in the mirrored M. Wondering why the unicorn (U) is pictured upside down? Oh, yes! Ah-ha moments abound in this imaginative abecedary. And if little ones are stumped by the trickier objects (russet-colored hinges, for instance, nestled in the crease between H and I), they can test whether or not they have caught all the tricks by comparing their responses with the key provided on the last spread. An exceptionally well-executed, gorgeously illustrated alphabet book full of delightful surprises.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)