HANDSIGNS

To introduce American Sign, ``the fourth most-used language in the United States,'' a simple alphabet, from anteater to zebra, in a generous square format that nicely accommodates appealing, handsomely designed color portraits of the animals- -quietly escaping their boundaries into the surrounding white space—plus, on each page, the appropriate letter (cap and l.c.) and a clear depiction of its handsign. The animals' names appear only in a glossary (not seen)—a real necessity for some of the more ambiguous (jack rabbit, vixen) or obscure (nautilus) species. Not as imaginative as Laura Rankin's The Handmade Alphabet (1991), but a useful addition to a small field and a fine illustration debut for Fain. (Picture book. 3-9)