THE STORY OF Z
By
Tired of being last, the letter Z abandons the end of the alphabet--bearing a suitcase and, of necessity, shown backwards, since she has turned around to stalk off. While people struggle to speak without her (""Can we go to the oo and see the ebras?""), Z tries to organize her own alternative alphabet, only to precipitate a quarrel over precedence. Eventually, she receives assurance that she was needed all along and rejoins her own alphabet--whereupon people finally get a good night's sleep: ""Zzzzz."" Imaginatively illustrated in fresh, uncluttered watercolors depicting the three-dimensional letters as characters, this unusual fable makes an intriguing sequel to more conventional books about the alphabet.