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Houppert, Anne Marie

What About X?: An Alphabet Adventure

40 pp. | Abrams/Abrams Appleseed | February, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4197-4078-7 $16.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-68335-977-7 $15.29
(2) PS Illustrated by Daniel Wiseman. "An alphabet book is only as good as its weakest link, a.k.a. the X page, we've said regarding "What Makes a Good Alphabet Book?" (March/April 2008). Houppert and Wiseman lean into this challenge by making X their main character. First-time camper X is excited for his trip with the other letters from Alphabet Academy. While everyone else seems to know just what to bring ("C made a clatter with canteens"; "T trotted up with the tent"), X has trouble thinking of something to contribute. An X-ray? "But what fun would an X-ray be on a camping trip?" And the xylophone they could use for campfire songs is broken. X is dejected and worried, but his friends reassure him that he has an important role: to find and mark the spot of their campsite on the map. Houppert avoids alphabet clichés with her empowering choice for X. She makes the most of other tricky letters ("a quiver full of arrows for archery, Q decided") and includes plenty of humor ("E packed ear plugs, because someone snores"--Z, naturally). Colorful letters with expressive faces, spindly arms and legs, and a few character-defining accessories add to the book's playfulness, with lots of details throughout to pore over on repeat reads (including a clever map on the dedication and copyright pages and a peek at the camping fun on the back endpapers). Pair this with recent school-set alphabet stories Swing (rev. 5/20) by Michael Hall and The Alphabet's Alphabet (rev. 9/20) by Chris Harris and Dan Santat.
Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

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