A IS FOR…A RABBIT'S TALE

After one kid gets a pet rabbit, another youngster feels covetous.

Just when it seemed the world was out of interesting ideas for alphabet books, along comes this corker, which offers a lesson in the ABCs while telling a compelling, immensely funny story. “A is for A rabbit”—in this case, a gray and white bunny that’s for sale at a pet store. “B is for Buy a rabbit” appears above an illustration of a jubilant, pink-skinned child pointing at the rabbit and holding out money. “C is for Cuddle your rabbit”—well, that one’s self-explanatory. The rest of the book is a hoot. “E is for Everyone loves rabbits” introduces a brown-skinned child in a tiger-striped shirt who’s excited about the other kid’s rabbit—a little too excited. Both children play with the animal until the kid in the tiger-striped shirt makes a move for the pet: “M is for My rabbit!” By “P is for Please give me back my rabbit,” there’s a real problem. How to resolve it? As it turns out, “Y is for Your guinea pig.” (The kid in the tiger stripes gets a guinea pig from the pet store.) Working digitally, Gifford sets the children and the rabbit against flat, eye-popping, single-color backdrops. The text is minimal; all three characters’ facial expressions are storytelling tools, with the rabbit’s eyes offering hilarious running commentary.

A winning threefer: an alphabet book, a conflict-resolution story, and a rib-tickler.