Gone Wild : An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans

The best word to describe this book is elegant. The author/illustrator has created letters that incorporate some part of each endangered animal that he has chosen to highlight. The only colors employed are black, white, and red. Upper and lower case letters are shown in addition to the animal letter and an outline picture of the animal. A text box on each page gives the animal's class, habitat, range, threats, and degree of endangerment. In the back, there is additional interesting information for each animal. This treatment is spare but effective. The book can be used with children of many ages to teach about endangered animals. When I was at Mendenhall, we used to do a unit on alphabet books which culminated in the students' creating their own book around an assigned theme. There are many possibilites for curriculum connection here.

Max's ABC by Rosemary Wells

Most ABC books illustrate letters of the alphabet around a theme. This one takes the genre a step further and tells a story. Ants escape from Max's ant farm, so he and his sister Ruby devise ways to eliminate them. Unfortunately, the ants enjoy each attempt. G is for "Go away ants," while S is illustrated in part by "We are Smarter than those ants." Each page features bright colors, large letters, and pictures large enough for sharing with a group. There is a typo on the M page where a word has been left out, but over all this is a funny and clever approach. Kids will love it when Max gets ants in his pants. This book is tailor made for preschool and kindergarten classes.