My first book of fancy letters

PreS-Gr 1--Hische, a lettering artist, has paired a descriptive word with her bold and vibrant majuscule letters and simplified miniscule letters, all with simple cartoon faces. This is a book that is meant to be read out loud and shared so listeners can admire the metaphoric drawings of the capitals, the small letter sidekick, and the details included with the drawings--the letter H is red hot puffy letter, the letter I is a block of ice with icicles. Some of the drawings are not as easy to decipher. As an example, the A for athletic appears on a varsity jacket. Another example is Q for Quilt, featuring a letter that is, unfortunately, not round, but a square. VERDICT An additional purchase for schools or libraries needing a read-aloud alphabet book, this is for children who already know their letters.--Vi Ha

Each letter of the alphabet gets fresh and fancy in this primer from typography guru Hische. "Letters can be A-for-Athletic," "J-for-Jeweled," or "U-for-Unique," but one thing's for sure: "Each and every letter is AWESOME!" On each page, lowercase letters are rendered in pastel 3D block lettering, while uppercase counterparts take on stylized typographic pizzazz to match the descriptive text, which features lively adjectives that begin with the corresponding letter. Each anthropomorphized letter has a simple, expressive doodled face and stick limbs. Lowercaseb uses a tiny bubble wand to blow a soapy, uppercase bubblyB. UppercaseM is drawn with curling serifs and a rabbit-filled top hat and a wand, much to the delight of the lowercasem spectator. Each scene is colorfully detailed, though visually a bit flattened by the stark white background. While the design is inspired, however, it isn't clear who this book is intended for. The intricacies of the art may go over the heads of readers learning their ABCs; older children and typography-loving adults, as well as fans of Hische's work, feel like this book's true audience. Those readers may find the presentation and format a bit on the young side, while preschoolers will likely struggle with words such asvibrant,prickly, andelectric. A charmingly illustrated and designed work that will have trouble finding its readership.(Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.