Doris’ Dear Delinquents

Newcomer Ward sets the stage with a single, inviting sentence: “One fine day in her modest little home on the river, Doris the Gharial crocodile became the proud mother of 26 hatchlings.” Ward’s portrait of Doris reveals a toothy snout; glittery golden eyes; and a possibly menacing look that’s tempered by a modest gray dress with a lace collar and a flowered sun hat. Her baby crocodiles crawl all over her, and their misdeeds as “they became harder to look after” are gleefully cataloged in abecedarian form, with their names and their actions starting with the appropriate letter: “Avery ate the goldfish” attends an illustration of a fish trapped lightly between the besweatered youth’s teeth. “Bella bit mom” show’s the child gnawing on one of Doris’s clawed fingers. The misdeeds are short and punchy (“Ivy said ‘Icky!’ ”) and true to life (“Lucas lacked his clothes”). Ward works in a subtle, grayed-out palette that, along with the repeating forms of the crocodiles, gives the spreads a restrained elegance. An alphabet book with just the right amount of toothy mayhem. Ages 4–10. (Nov.)