Alphabet books abound in children’s book publishing. Illustrators consider them an excellent showcase, authors love the challenge of adding a new twist to an old favorite, and readers find them irresistible. Lincoln City Libraries owns a vast selection of alphabet books, old to new, simple to complex. Today’s titles reflect the mind-boggling variety that springs from just 26 letters.

Dar Hosta’s “I Love the Alphabet” (Brown Dog, 2004) sets a visual feast before us. Using collage, oil pastel, colored pencil and computer graphics, Hosta illustrates brief verses for each letter. The illustrations overwhelm the reader with the dreaminess of their backgrounds, the sharp edges of the collage pieces set against them, with all parts employing a full rainbow of color. The rhyming text takes a secondary role in comparison, but it is well-tuned to the preschoolers who are this book’s audience. An animal representing each letter engages in some alliterative activity, reflected in the pictures. This would be an excellent book for one-on-one sharing, and also appropriate for sharing in a preschool group.

Jeannette Winter’s “Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet” (Harcourt, 2004) invites us to another feast for the eye. She introduces us to a Mexican family who makes papier-mache calaveras, the skeletons that are part of the Day of the Dead celebrations.  The family delivers them to market, and then the following pages are an alphabet of calaveras, from angels to witches to doctors and queens, employing Spanish words, just one or two words per page. Each page is bordered by a color, with a frame of another color around a black background. Clothing and accessories in flat bright colors contrast with the black-and-white skeletons. The author includes a glossary with a definition for each Spanish word. This would be an enriching title for children who are already familiar with the Day of the Dead celebrations.

Claudia McGehee uses a traditional approach in “A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet” (University of Iowa Press, 2004). A black-bordered illustration reminiscent of painted woodcuts is centered on each page. A plant or animal of the tallgrass prairie represents each letter. One or two words in black at the bottom of the page give the name, with the capital letter in the upper corner of the illustration. A list of the plants and animals at the end of the book provides their scientific name and some description. This book is intended for all of us right here in the tallgrass prairie, and would also be a good choice for teachers covering various habitats. A map showing the range of the tallgrass prairie would have been helpful.

Brian Floca’s “The Racecar Alphabet” (Atheneum, 2003) traces the development of the racecar as it progresses through the alphabet, from a 1901 Ford to a 2001 Ferrari. Instead of choosing just one word per letter, Floca provides a sentence that begins with the letter, and which usually includes ample alliteration. The endpapers provide a name and year for each car pictured. Floca’s watercolor illustrations convey motion and speed even as they are true to the details of the cars. Although “The Racecar Alphabet” is a perfect picture book for any youngster who is crazy for cars, its use of action words would make it an asset in elementary school classrooms, too.

“Amelia to Zora” by Cynthia Chin-Lee (Charlesbridge, 2005) is subtitled, “Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World.” Chin-Lee advances through the alphabet using the first names of the women, as the title implies. They are a multicultural group, and include artists, politicians and scientists. The brief paragraphs of information are meant more to whet the intellectual appetite than to provide a full background. Each page includes a brief quote by the subject. The book’s design with illustrations by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy pushes this title up several notches. Their use of mixed media collage provides a fitting artistic interpretation of each woman.  Frida Kahlo is pictured in a crocheted vest, holding a diagram of a heart as she touches it with a paintbrush. Mother Teresa embraces childlike illustrations of sad people.  Shelved with the collective biographies in the nonfiction, it deserves a place in classrooms and homes. Although in a picture book format, it is appropriate for upper elementary and secondary students.

Pat Leach is supervisor of Youth Services for Lincoln City Libraries.