ALFIE AND BET'S ABC

Two friends try to settle on favorite letters as they romp in rhyme through the alphabet.

Alfie and Bet are, respectively, an alligator (wearing an apron) and a bear (with a hair bow) who don’t so much argue as keep dancing along from letter to letter: “ ‘Oh no,’ says Alfie, / ‘never mind that, / just think about C— / it’s for cupcake and cat.’ ” Printed on heavy stock, each open spread features one to five cutout letters that pop up to float an inch or so over backdrops that are well-populated with cartoon flora, fauna, musical instruments, and other items—only some of which are mentioned in the verses. In addition to the aforementioned cupcake and cat, for instance, accompanying the letter C are a carrot, two caterpillars, cotton-candy, cookies, crayons, a crab, and a cactus. The unlabeled extras ramp the alphabetical tally up to a sometimes-challenging guessing game. Young animal lovers may identify the two-toned creature riding the train and talking on the telephone as a tapir, but that spotted creature wearing a hat and riding a horse while sipping from a juice box could be a hyena or a jaguar, and the identity of the little lizardlike creature at D-E-F-G will be anybody’s guess (an eft, maybe?).

An ordinary alpha-ramble, but children working their way into literacy might find this worth one go, at least.