There is an unmistakable mass market look to this busy ABC book. Each letter receives a double-page spread showcasing a two-stanza rhyme, a shadow box filled with objects, and an invitation from a cheerful blue ghost to find something in the shadow box. ``Can you find my brass bugle?'' he asks as the rhyme lists ``A big batch of bunny heads / Row after row, / And a bunch of balloons / With a brown bear below.'' Although the idea for the book is inventive, the coy illustrations at times overwhelm. Almost all the alphabet pictures have man-in-the-moon faces--jelly beans, ice cubes, bananas, dice, even green hills grin out at the reader. The rhymes are often forced, and the author avoids the problem of finding words for the difficult letter ``X'' by saying that ``X doesn't start / Many words, just a few, / But it's mixed in with taxi / And chickenpox too.'' Ages 2-10. (Nov.)
PreS-Gr 3-- An intriguing find-the-object book. Seeley uses shadowboxes--compartmentalized wooden frames--as a unifier. In the top left corner of each box is a letter of the alphabet. The other four to six compartments are filled with dense illustrations of objects, creatures, and people starting with the given letter. Featured items are mentioned in the two four-line stanzas that accompany each page. The rhyming verses are set within rectangles of various watercolors. For the most part, the rhymes are simply a gimmick to help with identification. A shadowy character who looks a bit like Casper the Friendly Ghost sits in his own wooden frame at the bottom of each verso and asks readers to hunt for one extra item. The final two pages list, through a fine use of adjectives, every item that can be found in the book. Seeley's illustrative style is interesting, although stiff. She places smiling faces on the inanimate objects and uses a profusion of small black dots to add depth and texture. Although not as visually or intellectually stimulating as Graeme Base's Animalia (Abrams, 1987), the book will certainly occupy a child's searching mind. --Martha Topol, Interlochen Public Library, MI
