It's all about planes, gliders, helicopters, and machines that fly. Olivera uses a retro artistic style to zip along from the ace in his biplane to zeppelin, with all aeronautical stops in between. He introduces some introductory science and the physics of flight: I is for intake and J is for jet, or T is for turbulence and also for tailwind. A UFO hovers over a farmer's field, with a wide-eyed cow in its beams, but whoops! e cow is gone in V is for vanished! On the last page, a smiling stunt pilot writes each letter in white smoke like little clouds in the sky, thus reinforcing the letters in alphabetical order. Simple in concept, but children will pore over the details about the mechanics of flying. Vertical panels show an astronaut taking off in a space capsule and then landing in the ocean. The bright colors and lots of white space celebrate a love of flight and vehicles with wings.

From flying aces to zeppelins, this alphabet book focuses on flight. The examples aren't always the most preschooler friendly: "Ii is for intake" and "Xx is for X axis," for example, won't mean much to the intended audience. The clean, retro-looking illustrations contain enough detail to satisfy young aviation fans.

PreS-Gr 2 "Aa is for ace" and "Bb is for biplane" in this retro-style alphabet book that is all about aviation. Each letter is displayed in both upper- and lowercase, and paired with an item or term relating to flight. The bold illustrations are simple yet whimsical, and the color palette dominated by teal, red-orange, golden yellow, and black translates nicely to depictions ranging from Kitty Hawk to a rocket. Words and concepts vary from simple and familiarF is for fuel, J is for jetto more complex ones, likely to spark further questions and conversation from young readers: U is for U.F.O.; V is for vanished; and X is for "X axis," paired with an engineering blueprint image. The bright colors and popular theme will appeal to children interested in flight. VERDICT A smart addition for elementary collections with frequent requests for airplane books.— Whitney LeBlanc, Staten Island Academy, NY