THE A TO Z BEASTLY JAMBOREE

Bender (Toads and Diamonds, 1995, etc.) rises to the demands of the highly structured alphabet-book format. Each animal performs an alliterative action on the letter that begins its name (``Ants anchor Aa. Bats boil Bb''). The more outlandish the verb is, the better this works, as in ``Narwhals needle Nn'' and ``Unicorns undress Uu.'' The book passes the X-test with flying colors- -``Xanthid crabs X-ray Xx''—and has an extra gimmick for watchful readers in the page frames. Bender's technique of painting on acetates overlaid on a black background creates illustrations that shine with a fuzzy brilliance. However, instead of employing bright primaries, he elects a more subdued palette that still takes full advantage of the luminosity of the medium: Green browns and purple grays abound, and they are anything but dull. An exciting, approachable look at the animal kingdom. (Picture book. 2-6)