Daytime Visions by Argentina-born Isol (The Menino; Nocturne; It's Useful to Have a Duck) is not like any other alphabet book.
From A to Z (shown in upper and lowercase, and in cursive), each letter is represented by a scene, a mini-story, a "daytime vision," with a word or an entire phrase. The letter A spread, for instance, shows a little bird flying away from a barking dog. "That's not an answer," it says. Does that mean escape isn't an answer? The beauty of it is that readers will bring to each scenario what they will. The letter C is for "Come on!" and shows a girl impatiently watching a potted plant grow. The letter K is for "The kiwi again!" and, amusingly, shows a large kiwi bird standing atop a child in bed who is clearly trying to sleep. The exquisitely designed picture book's rough simplicity is achieved with crayon-like hand-lettering, blocky collages, intriguing textures and inky, kinetic brushstrokes. The astonishing result is that every page or spread looks like it belongs in an art museum. Daytime Visions is in turns comical, touching, thought-provoking and deliciously odd, as appealing to adults as it will be to children. B for brava! --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness