Animalia (by Graeme Base)

Sesame Street long ago changed the process by which previously prim alphabet primers were packaged, but nothing prepared parents and pedagogues for the phantasmagorical pictures in Graeme Base's ANIMALIA. Creatures bask, cavort, devour, frolic, juggle, monitor, navigate, preen, queue (the author is British), slither, vocalize, yodel, and zigzag.

This book succeeds on several levels: First, it is an alphabet book that will sustain interest and guarantee frequent return visits. Second, it celebrates the richness of the English language, introducing vivid, vigorous verbs amid abundant adjectives and adverbs and nimble, notable nouns. Third, it further encourages language development by peppering background landscapes with loads of objects, inviting children to stab their fingers at the page and triumphantly call out each object's name.