The Alphabet Keeper  (Flyaway Alphabet)
The Alphabet Keeper is a grouchy old lady who keeps all her letters locked up in a cage in a dark room. A burst of  compassion compels her to clean their cage one day, and given the opportunity, the letters escape hastily. The Alphabet Keeper chases after them and quickly discovers how  resourceful those letters can be, given space to move about freely. They take refuge in a park and when the keeper sneaks up on them, the "pturns upside down and theparkbecomesbark," leaving a little  dog to chase the keeper away. When the Alphabet Keeper comes up with a plan, thetturns it into aplant. "'Stupid plant!' she yells, and  kicks it. Thenpandlbreak away, and theplantturns into anant," who wanders off quietly. Mary Murphy's clever story and illustrations feature the temperamental lady, dressed all in gray and  sporting thick, black, angry eyebrows, constantly screaming, shouting, kicking, and throwing things. Fittingly, given her poor attitude, she's relentlessly foiled by the agile, flying letters, who've clearly paid attention to their spelling lessons and might be quite good at Scrabble  Junior. In fact, this funny little book is likely to give young spellers a boost of interest and creativity in the classroom, and that can only be a  good thing. (Ages 4-8)--Jennifer Lindsay