THE SLEEPY LITTLE ALPHABET

Sierra’s reliably commendable verse teams with quirky illustrations from Sweet to produce an alphabet-bedtime hybrid with plenty of appeal for families. Restless lower-case children resist bedtime in assorted realistic, predictable ways: “h tries standing on her head. / i and j jump on the bed.” The author knows her preschool audience and produces potty chairs and underwear for dependable giggles. The illustrator’s blocky letters sport pop-eyes and toothy grins. She intersperses plenty of additional objects beginning with the letters featured on each pastel spread, providing parents and kids with opportunities to linger and learn. By letters v and w, the transition from pre-bedtime chaos to irrefutable tiredness is complete, and the final spread depicts a veritable dormitory of typographic drowsing. Capital! (Picture book. 2-6)