B Is for Bear: A Natural Alphabet

Viano’s S Is for Salmon (2014) focused on the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest. Now she celebrates a more expansive landscape, captured in crisp images cut from black paper and colored digitally. Tidy black rectangles frame each illustration, accompanied by brief captions with intriguing details; on the page for H a spiral of tiny herring, set against a subdued blue backdrop, “keep safe by swimming together.” Elsewhere readers can learn the scientific name for lightning bugs (Lampyridae), that ants like to hang out in the petals of Queen Anne’s lace, and that wild violets can be found sprouting under dead leaves in the spring. An emphatic love of nature courses through the book, starting with its dedication, “to all of those who let children run a little wild, climbing trees and splashing in puddles.” Ages 2–5. (Oct.)