Though Rosen's verse may take some explaining to young readers--"And so the Vacuum in the cosmos / clutched this cold compound, / and then rewound it round itself / and hurled it homeward bound"--it more than repays the effort. The verse's snap and crackle alone will provoke some toe-tapping--not to mention, as happened with a group of five-year-olds, getting a few readers on their feet to dance about. And that the alphabet is thrown into the bargain seems a good deal indeed.

Butler's illustrations work beautifully here. He uses collage and painting set against what is often a field of sharp color, and depicts the hungry, growing snowball/avalanche to heady effect. He has set the letters off like fireworks by bumping up their relative size and splashing them with color.

Plan your reading around the age group. Younger kids will appreciate the jazzy mood, with a note of emphasis when each new letter is introduced, while older kids can get a sense of the process involved here--its movement through time and space--all wrapped up in snow and laughter.

Rosen has written some powerful titles, including A School for Pompey Walker and Thanksgiving Wish. And Henrik Drescher's The Boy Who Ate Around ought to please these readers as well.