Bell, Cece. Animal Albums from A to Z. Cece Bell, Illus. Walker, 03/2024. [64]pp. Poetry. Trade $19.99. 978-1-5362-2624-9. GRADES 1–6. OUTSTANDING.
This clever collection of original poetry is formatted to look like vinyl record albums, arranged alphabetically by animal recording artists. Both the poems and the illustrations work together to convey this original concept, showing the animals in clothing and playing instruments, with each album cover listing the alliteratively titled songs contained on the album. The lyrics of one song per artist are done using different music styles, including folk, rock, easy listening, and many more, and the poems usually rhyme. The illustrations evoke classic album covers from the mid-twentieth-century era of popular American music and were created using cut paper collage and paint. The introduction and ending mini-biographies of these invented artists treat the project as if these are real musicians and albums. A QR code on the book will lead readers to audio recordings of these creatively humorous songs.
Penny Peck—San José State University, iSchool