Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Alphabet
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 1996 ISBN: 978-1416955658
Are you ready? You better be because we are going to take a wild and wonderful alphabetical tour of the animal kingdom. You are going to see animals from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, Europe and the oceans. They will come in all shapes and sizes, all colors and textures.
We begin with scaly green alligators. Touch the tail of the alligator which is eating a banana. Doesn't that feel scaly? You can also touch a scratchy pink cougar tongue and the bristles on a little yellow bee. If you fold out the page you will also be able to see a really ""shimmery"" blue dragonfly. Of course there are also other animals on this page which are not names whose names begin with A, B, C, or D. Do you know what they are?
Let us jump ahead a few pages. This is where ""Striped Iguanas climb."" You will also find spotted jaguars here and ""Playful baby Kangaroos. Push the tab and you can make them ""bounce, bounce, bounce!"" There are more animals on this page to identify whose names begin with I, J, or K. If you don't know what they are check the ""Safari Sightings"" in the back of the book.
Next we are going to jump to the R, S, and T page. Get ready to touch a ""rough"" rhino and the soft tail of a tamarin. Watch out for that stinkbug! It smells terrible!
This marvelous alphabet book will absolutely delight young animal lovers. They will get to meet some familiar friends like lions and giraffes, but they will also meet some animals that they are not as familiar with like the Indri and the Jerboa. Sharp sighted readers will also discover that there are other items on the pages to name such as plants, fruits, and flowers. Then there are tabs to pull and to push, surfaces to touch, and a stinky bug to sniff.
A deliciously clever text introduces children to all kinds of new words is accompanied by downright funny illustrations which will bring a smile to even the saddest of faces.
Finally there is a pop-up poster tucked into the back cover which shows animals of all kinds holding boxes. Open the front of each box and a clever pop-up reveals a mini alphabet scene.
