A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET

For kids who have never been to a country fair, this montage of alphabet letters in various graphic styles that represent items and impressions of a fair may, like a first-time midway experience, be sensory overload. The intentionally frenetic page design is a visual cacophony of primary colors that pop on white backgrounds. The flat dimension of the vividly colored collages, created primarily from photographs Frasier took of letters on signs at a fair, creates a poster-like effect. Many word choices will not surprise either fairgoers or alphabet-book lovers—Q for quilts, C for cotton candy, T for tractor. Others are a stretch—D for dill pickle, O for outstanding (depicted as blue-ribbon winners of baked goods), U for unbelievable (sideshow acts), V for vegetables and Z for zucchini (a mother holds her blue ribbon while her son sleeps beside her). X is for eXit. At their very best, the compositions are downright inspired: Linked Rs in a variety of styles zoom up and down the roller coaster. All together, this themed abecedary whirls like a Ferris wheel. (Picture book. 7-10)