ABC RAINFOREST

The latest title in the American Museum of Natural History ABC board book series focuses on rain forests and the amazing animals and plants that populate them.

Like the other titles in this series, this is a beautifully designed volume that uses the alphabet as a convenient means to present some interesting scientific information. Striking stock photographs are paired with large letters and set against solid-colored backgrounds, creating a set of images that will appeal to readers of all ages, adults included. The facts and concepts offered here are a bit more sophisticated than in previous titles and seem to be pretty clearly aimed at children who already know their ABCs and are of an age to have transitioned to paper pages. D, for example, is for Deforestation, which “leads to the destruction of the rainforest,” while Z is for Zoochory, “the scattering of seeds by animals.” Neither a traditional alphabet book nor a comprehensive introduction to rain forests, this offers a combination of attractive illustrations and intriguing, if random, factoids that might spark readers to seek out other, more thorough treatments of the subject or check out their local natural history museums to learn more.

A well-meaning mismatch between format and audience