L Is for Library

Rhyming text and photographs depict an alphabet tour as young readers follow a tabby cat to learn about a library, from "A" is for author to "Z" is for catching zzz's.

Grade 1-3–An endearing orange tabby leads children on an alphabetical tour of the library. Rhyming couplets that for the most part flow nicely give readers an overview, with equal emphasis on print and nonprint resources, fiction, nonfiction, and reference. C is for the Caldecott,/awarded for art that pleases the eyes./D is for the Dewey Decimal System,/which helps us organize. The feline is accompanied by the ducklings from Robert McCloskey's classic Make Way for Ducklings, who perch on the cat's head as it peruses magazines, make xerox copies of their webbed feet, and otherwise cavort in amusing ways. The library depicted is warm and inviting, with a multiethnic group of children (and historical figures) obviously enjoying themselves and excited by their surroundings. The illustrations employ a soft but varied palette and are replete with details that add interest and humor to the text. This would make an excellent first-time-in-the-library book, but it will be enticing to children throughout the year as well.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.