Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
If you are looking for an alphabet book with more than a bit of nonsense, this is the one for you! I happen to be a huge fan of alphabet books that play around, add humor and have plenty of twists. If you are looking for a straight-forward ABC book, the title alone should be enough to have you looking elsewhere. For those of you as silly as I am, continue on! Zebra is in charge of the ABCs happening in the right order on stage. Unfortunately, Moose doesn’t want to wait his turn. He enters on D, knocking Duck away, messes up Elephant’s entrance too, gets his head in the way for Hat, pops out of the pocket for Kangaroo, and continues to be silly for Lollipop too. But the insult truly comes when they decide to go with M is for… Mouse. Now Moose is upset and rampages through P and Q, drawing scribbles on R and S. Zebra tries to stop him, but ends up messing things up himself until the happy ending at Z.
Bingham’s writing is filled with asides from the different animals. The book is extremely funny, the pacing is brilliant, and the twists are unexpected. There is a great tension built up as the letter M approaches, and then with the twist, it is pure genius.
Zelinsky’s illustrations add to the mad gaiety of the book. Moose is obnoxious but also charming, his emotions clear on his face. The reaction of Moose as M passes him by is delightful, the rampage of destruction is great fun, and his scribbling is clever.
It is clear that this is a book that was pure fun to create, since that is apparent on every page. Impossible to read without laughing and grinning, this is an alphabet book that is sure to delight. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from library copy.