ACTIVE ABC

An action-packed alphabet book featuring verbs.

Each letter of the alphabet is paired with one action word per page, printed in black on an uncluttered white background. Pastel patterns—stripes, checks, dots, and triangles—adorn the slightly recessed upper- and lowercase letters and serve as a subtle tactile invitation to trace them. The same animal friends introduced in other books in the Beginning Baby series (Smile, Baby!; Welcome to Shape School!; and 10 Hugs and Kisses, all published in 2021) demonstrate the meaning of each verb. The more abstract, less concrete concepts (Begin, Grow, Imagine, and Pick) can be somewhat vague, though other verbs work fairly well (Dig, Eat, Laugh, and Nap), even if verbs inherently imply movement and it can be challenging to show motion on a static page. The body language and facial expressions of the cartoon-style elephant and fox fighting over a book make very clear the meaning of the word Quarrel. But two pages later, Share is less obvious, especially since the narwhal doesn’t have a cookie and the llama seems to have firm possession of the bag. Similarly, few children will readily realize that the fox with his closed eyes is meant to illustrate eXhale. The illustrations that work best include additional contextual clues, such as the elephant wearing pajamas and standing by a bed for Yawn and a similarly pajama-clad narwhal for Zip ZZZZZZ, goodnight!

An uneven effort.