TOMORROW'S ALPHABET

Shannon (April Showers, 1995, etc.) has created an alphabet book that demands of readers imaginative, often arbitrary leaps, from what is to what will be. ``B is for eggs—tomorrow's BIRDS'' and ``R is for grapes—tomorrow's RAISINS.'' Wheat to flour, clay to pot, caterpillar to moth: Most of the letter play will spark recognition, but the associations of a few are fairly oblique for ABC readers. A is for seed, which becomes an apple, but that's a mighty long botanical road; G sits next to bulbs that become a garden, even though it looks more like a simple cluster of daffodils. ``U is for stranger—tomorrow's US'' will have a lot of little wheels spinning in vain, and the distance between ``X is for foot—tomorrow's X-RAY'' is almost unbridgeable. Crews brings to each page his elemental, suggestive brushwork: ketchup that is thick and rich and hard to shake out of the bottle, water that is splashy and cold. (Picture book. 5+)