ABC x 3

Illustrated with simple paper-cuts in bright, high contrast colors, this trilingual alphabet pairs upper and lower case letters in a sans serif face with appropriate, if sometimes unexpected, shapes, animals or items captioned in English, Spanish and French. Though neither “ç” nor any accented vowels get separate entries, Spanish letters “Ch,” “ll” and “ñ” do, with one-word labels “chaqueta,” “lluvia” and “niños.” Non-Spanish speakers will have to figure out the meanings of these for themselves, however, from pictures that are abstract enough to leave some room for confusion. Furthermore, six of the other examples—Jaguar, Kiwi, Quetzal, Radio, Windsurfer and Zigzag—are identical in all three languages. An uneven outing from a team that usually does better, but refreshing for its multicultural outlook. (Picture book. 5-7)