Charming pen-and-ink and watercolor images of a thriving cast of curious bear cubs make this abecedary a pleasure to share with preschoolers.
The ursine characters kick things off by holding up a banner displaying the 26 multicolored letters in upper case ("Alphabet from A to Z"), then Susan B. Katz launches into an alphabetical list that gives newcomers to day care the lay of the land. "Crayons for coloring, in my hand" spotlight a desk where two friends draw, and "Dump trucks, playing in the sand" highlight a busy sandbox. Some of the letters center on daily activities (E is for "Eating snack around the rug"; J leads into "Jumping rope across the map," which is painted on the blacktop), while others hint at more abstract enterprises (such as I for "Imagination, thinking cap..."). All of the letters help to reassure first-time visitors to daycare or preschool: "Kitchen during free-choice hour,/ Letter blocks that build a tower!" Katz's rhyme scheme never falters, while Munsinger pictures happy cubs as "Friends who share a hello hug" and plenty of fun things to keep them busy, such as glue sticks for art projects and hats in the dress-up area, paper puppets and play dough.
Children will happily pick out their favorite characters in multiple scenes, right up until the cubs help each other in "zipping up our big backpacks" to head home on the yellow school bus. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness