I was instantly drawn to the board-book version of Alison Jay’s ABC: A Child’s First Alphabet Book when I saw it on the shelf at the local bookstore. The cover illustration dominated by a large striped hot air balloon looked old-fashioned and whimsical and made me pick the book up to leaf through it (note the hardcover version of this book features a different cover illustration). What I saw was not your typical children’s alphabet book, and I realized that this would entertain my toddler daughter for many years, and probably become a cherished memento of her childhood that she would one day share with her own children. Yeah, I liked it that much, just standing there in the store. I bought it for my baby, and after having gone through the pages with her a few times after we brought it home, I found reasons to like it even more.

Let me note that I also checked a copy of the hardcover version of this book at the local library to make sure the illustrations were the same. I found the hardcover and board book versions were identical, except for an alphabetical list of words at the end of the hardcover version which essentially serves as a guide to all the words that begin with any given letter contained in the pictures. I was actually glad the board book version did not have this feature—it made it more fun to be able to discover new words with each subsequent reading.

Discovery is what this book is all about. Each letter of the alphabet has its own painting, featuring one main item that begins with that letter. The paintings are labeled with both the capital and lowercase versions of the letter and a statement including that main feature of the painting (e.g. "Ff f is for frog"). But besides the main feature, each painting includes several other items that also start with that letter. It can be a great game for a child to search for all the items in a painting that begin with the letter in question. I often found items that I had missed previously when re-reading this book with my daughter. For example, "c is for cow," but it’s also for clouds, cabbages, cat, car, chickens, cottage, and a crescent moon in the sky. "D" is for a dog, which happens to be dancing in a dining room with diamonds on the linoleum floor. A door and a picture of a duck, as well as a doll and dishes on a sideboard (with drawers), are in the background (incidentally, those dishes look like Delft pottery). On the table in the foreground, a donut sits on a dish decorated with daisies. Get the idea? Some paintings are chock full of words beginning with the featured letter, while others seem to only have a few, but that could be just because I’m missing something. Once you start looking for "letter words" in the paintings, it’s hard to stop. This feature of the book could even be used to teach counting by asking a child to count the number of "letter words" they can find in a painting.

And if the verbal treasure hunt isn’t enough, there’s still more intrigue to be found in Jay’s illustrations. Each painting contains a clue to the content of the next illustration, in the form of some small detail that will appear as the main feature of the next picture. For example, in the "C" painting, a dog is running toward the door of the house. The door is slightly ajar, and you can just see the black and white checked floor inside. When you turn the page, you find the dog dancing in the room you caught a glimpse of in the previous picture. Remember the dishes on the sideboard in the dog’s painting that I mentioned previously? If you look closely at one of them, you’ll see a picture of an elephant, and there’s also an envelope sitting on the sideboard by the dishes. Both of these items appear in the "E" painting. Besides this foreshadowing of details, Jay’s pictures often contain elements that have been featured previously, and some items or details appear over and over throughout the book. This helps to create the sense that you’re peeking into some other complete, secret world. This was the first book illustrated by Alison Jay that I had ever encountered, and since purchasing this book, I have sought out her work and found that this use of repeated elements and foreshadowing is something she uses often in her children’s books.

In addition, there is a back story unfolding in the background of the paintings, as you repeatedly see a man in a pith helmet who seems to be on an actual treasure hunt, as well as the woman who lives in the house that is repeatedly featured. The two apparently know each other and send letters and postcards to one another. As the book progresses, you watch the man journey ever closer to his goal as he consults an ancient-looking treasure map.

Alison Jay’s art definitely has its own unique style. Besides the repeated element feature that I described above, each of Jay’s paintings is done with bright colors, figures with lots of gentle curves, humans with slightly elongated yet rounded bodies with small heads, and animals in motion (often looking as if they’re running or jumping). Her paintings are also finished off with a technique that makes them look as if they’re done in old, crackled paint, which adds to their old-fashioned feel. There’s something about this style that I find very visually appealing, and which seems to add to this particular book’s sense of oldness and mystery, deepening the intrigue created by the countless clues and intricate details contained throughout the illustrations.

Even though my daughter isn’t old enough to appreciate the intricate details of the illustrations, she loves them just the same. When I bought this book, she was not yet learning her alphabet, but she loved leafing through the pages and pointing to animals she recognized, as well as learning the words for other objects that caught her eye. Now, she can repeat the words she has learned, and is learning the letters themselves. This remains one of her favorite books, which she brings over to me time and again as she climbs up beside me on the couch to snuggle and read together. I know, as she gets older, she’ll continue to find new things to capture her interest in this book. Luckily, this is a very sturdy board book, with a tough binding made to make the book lies flat when open. It has already endured a great deal of abuse from my toddler and is still in great shape, unlike many of her other board books.

Can you tell that I love this book? Really, it’s worth adding to your little one’s collection, or if you’re looking for a good book to give as a gift to a child just learning to read, this is well worth the investment. Overall, this is a sturdy, visually stimulating book with lots of clues and details woven throughout the illustrations to provide new discoveries with each subsequent reading. Reading the same books over and over again to a small child can become drudgery for parents, but sharing this book repeatedly is a treat.

For information on another great alphabet book for kids, see my review of Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats.

Recommended: Yes