ABCITY

So many sights to see in a city!

This concept book works in two ways: as a maze through the city streets that traces through the entire book and as a seek-and-find, which is a page-to-page activity. The buildings in the city are shaped like alphabetical letters, hence the book’s title, and the items to find are on the buildings and outside of them and correspond to the buildings’ letters: an ambulance and banana on the A and B page, a jaguar on the J page, etc. The illustrations are carefully composed, with bird’s-eye-view shots of construction sites, train tracks, a hospital, a swimming pool, and much more. The objects to find are quite tiny, and because the streets form a maze, some readers may have trouble focusing on each page. Still, readers up for a challenge will enjoy spending time with this book. Laudably, Munro depicts a city where greenery is plentiful and where there are many different things to stumble upon—each day is its own journey. Though many people are depicted, they’re seen at a distance, making it hard to discern race or ethnicity. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A concept book for the sharpest of eyes.