cover image An Alphabet of Animals

An Alphabet of Animals

Christopher Wormell. Dial Books, $17.95 (64pp) ISBN 978-0-8037-0876-1

From alligator to zebra, including the umbrella bird and xenops, the animals in Wormell's alphabet are depicted on ivory backgrounds in striking linoleum prints. Thick black lines surround muted colors--a swan glides through dappled waters; a plumed, red-breasted quetzal perches on a branch; a hippopotamus stands before inky waters. The design and typography of the book, like the Helprin/Van Allsburg Swan Lake , is elegant. A circus-poster tiger stares out from a bookplate on the dark green cloth cover; embossed gold letters adorn the spine. Wormell's prints are masterfully executed, but his animals are staid and somber--perhaps more suitable for a reader interested in a coffee-table art book than for a child exploring the world of letters and animals. All ages. (Nov.)