FROM LETTER TO LETTER

Beginning with the pretitle page--where a zebra's rump introduces a reverse alphabet parade of creatures (borrowed from the book proper) that winds sinuously across the title-page double spread--this is a delight. Every page consists of a large block capital, each decorated with a design skillfully constructed of things beginning with the letter--while the lower-case letter is incorporated in an entertaining, often comic scene involving several more items with the same initial. As many as 12 words for the things shown march across the bottom; still more words are listed at the book's end. The illustrations, in what looks like colored pencil, are full of charming detail; the links between the upper- and lower-case letters on each page are especially creative and amusing. Two small cavils: the librarian pictured is stereotypical; the word list at the end is not alphabetized within letters. This appears to be Sloat's first book--it's a winner.