A GARDEN ALPHABET
by Isabel Wilner & illustrated by Ashley Wolff
A fine anthologist (The Poetry Troupe, 1977) fashions garden facts and practices into adequate, if sometimes forced, verse. Wolff's gardener is an appealing dog, both assisted and impeded by other creatures in various scales (a frog friend is dog- sized); some vegetables are nicely accurate (including underground views), while others are more casually rendered. Best are the whimsical touches: a mouse with a kale bonnet; the frog's book—Bad Bugs. A mixed effort: not essential, but with some charming bits. (Picture book. 4-8)