cover image Alphabet Puzzle

Alphabet Puzzle

Jill Downie. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, $16 (56pp) ISBN 978-0-688-08044-0

A page with a window lies between each pair of letters on 13 spreads, and reveals a tantalizing glimpse of intriguing illustrations. A is for axe; through the window readers see the axe lodged in a tree trunk with a bird and butterfly in the frame. Turn the page and B is for bark. By far the most effective use of the format comes with C , for camel, and D , for desert. Through the window is a bleached landscape of dunes; turn the page and one of those dunes is the camel's hump. This is an display of optical wizardry that is sometimes perfectly executed and other times features items (icicles and jaws for I and J ) that are only visuallynot conceptuallyrelated. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)