Simple rhymes describe the nonsense activities of an alphabetical animal parade. While the verses are not particularly memorable, the images are pleasantly startling without being outlandish. Billy's menagerie starts with ""Once silly Billy saw an Ape paint pictures on a fire escape"" and ends with ""He watched a Zebra decorate a Happy! Happy! Birthday! cake."" The large drawings, which are mostly black and white with random patches of dull colors, are frequently confusing in their excess of line.