Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Animal ABC
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
NorthSouth, 2013 ISBN: 978-0735841369
For years authors and illustrators have been pairing animals with concepts to help children to learn their colors, their numbers, and their letters. Children love animals and they would rather learn that c is for cat, than to learn that c is for cauliflower.
In this wonderful picture book Marcus Pfister pairs his unique and beautifully expressive art with short rhyming lines to introduce children to some wonderful animals and to help them to remember their ABCs.
He begins with an alligator on the A page, and we are told that these animals “have scales and a toothy smile.” On the H page we see a hare that is loping across the page. The hare tells us that it has “long ears and I look like a bunny,” but apparently it is a lot faster than its smaller relative.
The author uses animals that will be familiar, such as an elephant and a mouse, and some that will probably be new to young readers, such as a numbat and a wombat. The combination of interesting information, wonderful rhymes, and beautiful, colorful art is sure to appeal to young children.
