Mr. Bear’s ABC

In this oversize alphabet book with a portrait layout, Aracil renders letters A–Z on the left-hand side of each spread and creates playful groupings of nouns (and occasional verbs and adjectives) that begin with each letter on the right. Mr. Bear—neon pink and wearing a striped sweater—is joined by additional bear friends who peek up from the large letters that appear throughout, and winsome art, sometimes precise, sometimes scratchy, accompanies the alphabet. “L” nouns are lion, lollipops, lightning, lily of the valley, lunch box, and llama; “O” words include octopus, olive trees, and oasis. Sometimes the items on the pages interact: for “M,” a monster with abundant pearly white teeth prepares to drink a bottle of milk. Aracil provides an interesting mix of people, animals, and objects in this alphabet and word handbook. Ages up to 3. [em](Sept.) [/em]