ABC ANIMALS

A plethora of mammals, reptiles, birds, and more fills this striking alphabet book.

There’s a cat, an elephant, a robin, and others that are instantly recognizable, along with several that are slightly familiar, like a badger, an iguana, and a lemur. A nautilus, a xenopus, and a urial are exotic and possibly completely unknown to many child readers. Each animal is presented in a double-page spread. Upper- and lowercase letters in a serif typeface and a modified cursive appear at the top of the verso page, within faint lines that might be seen on a school handwriting chart or practice exercise. A large uppercase letter fills the center of the page, with a design and color that mimics the illustration of the animal. Somewhere on the page is a silhouette of the animal, most often in light beige. The animal’s name is printed in a thin sans-serif at the bottom of the page. There is no other text. Evans’ depictions of each animal on the recto page go far beyond simple illustration. They are sharply delineated, deeply textured digital woodcuts, almost three-dimensional and touchable. The creatures’ eyes are incredibly expressive, gazing directly at readers as if offering their souls for inspection. The zebra on the book’s jacket is an exact duplicate of the one on the last page, with the addition of slightly raised texture that cries out for a reader’s delicate touch.

Wonderful. A stunning, breathtaking achievement.