This is a great alphabet book. Instead of "A is for..." it has a picture with lots of As, and lots of things that start with A. So kids can find all the different objects in the picture, and connect it to the letter. And it requires figuring some things out. There is a picture of a baby on the B page, but also the I page, so you have to think about another word for baby to realize it is an infant. There are many similar examples. Why is an airplane on the J page? Because it's a jet! ( )

Judi and Ron Barrett, the husband-and-wife team behind such classic picture-books as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Pickles to Pittsburgh, have come together once again to create this entertaining and educational alphabet book. Each page is devoted to a letter in the alphabet, described in some sort of superlative fashion - Avalanches of As, Boatloads of Bs - and an almost-full-page illustration featuring items beginning with that letter.

The result is a book that makes learning and thinking about the alphabet fun, as readers young and old will be able to pore over the pages of An Excessive Alphabet, identifying all of the objects in the illustrations, as they come to each letter. The artwork, done in pen and ink and colored digitally, is colorful and appealing, with plenty of quirky details to keep the reader entertained. Recommended to anyone looking for engaging new alphabet books, as well as to fans of the Barretts and their books. ( )