The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book

Many alphabet books transform the 26 letters into people, places or things; Ernst (Stella Louella's Runaway Book), however, gives the idea a new twist-literally-by asking readers to rotate her exuberant book 360 degrees, to view each letter from four different perspectives. Working with cut paper, Ernst sets each blocky, sans serif, capital letter against a square field of fluorescent color; in the black border that frames the letters, the text encourages readers to examine the image from each of four angles (as it wraps around the page): "C pretends to be/ an angel's halo" (as readers turn the book to view the letter, bright yellow on an orange background, positioned so that its curve points up), "macaroni and cheese" (the upside-down "C") and a hoop earring (when it rests on its curve)." Not all the suggestions are compelling-O, for example, resembles a bagel no matter how one looks at it-and some youngsters may need coaxing to notice the conceits that depend on the interplay between the letter shape and its negative space (a lime-green N turned on its side looks like "two tortilla chips headed for guacamole" because the angled lines of the letter create two triangles from the yellow field). But children who are mastering both letter recognition and the mechanics of book-reading should get a kick out of how Ernst rewards them for tweaking the rules. Ages 3-6. (July) Copyright 2004 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2-Children who are tired of staid concept books will welcome this one-it literally turns the alphabet on its ear. Each page contains a large block letter enclosed in a square that, when viewed from a different direction-left, right, or upside-down (hence the title)-transforms into an entirely different object. For example, when "J" is rotated clockwise, it becomes, in turn, "an elephant's trunk," "a candy cane," and "a monkey's tail." Some designs, like "O," are easy to spot (bagel, owl's eye, fried egg); others, like "K" (picnic table, a mama duck with two ducklings, Martian's antennae) and "W" (two fish, a cat casting a shadow, a mountain stream), present more of a challenge. With touches of humor and a great deal of creativity, Ernst fashioned this book out of cut paper and surrounded each block with a thick black border that sets off white words. Children will enjoy tilting the pages to see the transformations and will be motivated to come up with ideas of their own.-Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.