THE SMUSHKINS

An audible amble through the alphabet, ideal for small ears.

The full cast of the Smushkins (as well as some newcomers) act out each letter of the alphabet while making a wide array of noises. Upper- and lowercase versions of each letter appear in the bottom corners of each spreads, alongside the occasional speech balloon. The “arf” of a wide-mouthed dog is paired with the “boing boing boing” of three bouncy, long-eared creatures. The characters take part in child-friendly activities sure to be familiar to readers, from hiccupping for “H” to dropping stones in the water for “P” (“plip plop”). Some sounds are amusingly adorable, like the “nom nom” of two Smushkins feasting on piles of crackers. Interjections (“oops,” “oh-oh”), onomatopoeia (“kaboom,” “vroom”), and animal noises (“moo,” “quack”) round out the book. As in many alphabet books, X is a bit of a stretch (here, two creatures say “XO” to each other as they hug), but generally speaking the choices for each letter are sound. Rueda’s saturated depictions of her solemn-faced, large-eyed creatures—some clearly identifiable animals, others more ambiguous, but all adorable—will enchant youngsters; fans of the Smushkin series will easily identify their favorite characters with relative ease. The final image of the friends all sleeping ends with a sleepy “Zzzzzoinks!” as several Smushkins drift off to slumberland.

An abecedarian delight, perfectly described by its letter “Y”: “Yippee!”