Following Paul Thurlby's Alphabet, the eponymous artist weds a cartoon aesthetic with a graphic-art style in handsome compositions that feature anthropomorphic animals in weathered, faux-vintage illustrations with the feel of offbeat WPA posters. Facts about the animals appear beneath each illustration: “Kangaroos balance on their tails to kick with both feet,” writes Thurlby, as a kangaroo wearing a fierce expression and a karate uniform performs a move against a green graph-paper backdrop. The boldly styled animals—which include a disco-dancing bee, a bear sitting on a toilet in the woods, and a crocodile wiping away tears as it gnaws on a human leg—offer quirky fun on each page. Ages 5–up. Agent: Jean Sagendorph, Mansion Street Literary Management. (Mar.)
