The Absolutely Awful Alphabet
Suppose each letter in the alphabet were some ghoulish creep.  ("Ais an awfully arrogant Amphibian...") And suppose each ensuing letter,  nastier than the last, was about to attack, or get attacked by, one of its neighbors. ("P, a particularly putrid Predator ... plans to pulverize Q,  a quivering, quizzical Quacker...") You'd have the delightfully spooky  and suspenseful version of the alphabet that is Mordicai Gerstein'sThe Absolutely Awful Alphabet. Alphabet lessons have never been so  slimy, ugly, nasty, or just plain weird, and Gerstein's illustrations strike  just the right tone. With their blue tongues, frizzy black nose hairs,  pointy fangs, and slit eyes, these letters are wonderfully terrible to behold.  The best of the worst?V, a "voracious vegetable vampire who  is viciously vile." Warning: You'll never look at an ear of corn the same way again. (Ages 5 and older)--Jean Lenihan