A to Z Challenge Day 17: Q
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 4.75

Queenie Mac’s new picture book is called It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . .   (back cover):  It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . . is a fanciful frolic through the alphabetical animal kingdom with alliterations galore and the whimsical illustrations from each and every letter.  This imagination evoking book was written and illustrated by Queenie Mac for the child within all of us.

The first thing you notice upon opening this book is the lack of white space.  This is not endless narration, but color from edge to edge, that makes you smile from ear to ear.  The colors are bright, awesome, and fun.  It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . .   is not the 12, or if you were lucky, the 24-count Crayola box of crayons that mom bought you for school.  No, it is the 64-count Crayola box of crayons, with the sharpener in the back, that one smug little kid had and wouldn’t share with you—that kind of color.  Queenie Mac is sharing.

The illustrations, all done with that 64-count box of colors, cover nearly everything from A to Z.  There are acrobatic alligators, buzzing bees, careless cows, dainty donkeys, exotic éclairs, fearless furry ferrets, a gaseous gorilla, high-heeled hippos, icky insects, a jaywalking jester, kicking koalas, licorice lollipops, mammoth marshmallows, a nearsighted nautilus, outrageous ostriches, perplexed pelicans, a questioning quetzal, rambunctious ravens, saffron spiders, traveling turkeys, unicycling unicorns, vagabond voles, wallowing white whales, a yodeling yokel, and zonked zebras.  Wait.  Something is missing.

Have you figured out the subject of this beautifully bizarre book?  No, it is not the author A to Z Challenge, this is an ABC book focused on the animal world, higher-level words, and alliterations.  I adore alliterations and think animals are awesome.  The book is busy with crazy characters and oceans of objects on each proceeding page.  This is not a brief or basic ABC book for pre-school pupils,  though they can benefit from listening.

No, this ABC book, with its abundance of above-average words is more for curious children, from the age of silly seven to nutty ninety-nines; crafty clams ready to take on wicked words like voluptuous, wallowing, kabuki, defiantly, and bubbles. Yes, bubbles.  The ready reader starts by blowing bubbles into the aqua A-words and follows them all the way through the alphabet until finally landing on the zany Z-words.

It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . .   is a fun book to read aloud.  Try not getting your tongue twisted while trying the alliterated prose on each page.  This will teach your child, and you, new animals and new words, while increasing both of your vocabularies.

I love this book.  The illustrations are supper silly to match the tongue- twisting text.  Together they make an ABC picture book to enjoy and educate.  The only thing I cannot find is the letter X, which is given nothing more majestic than a big X to mark the spot for W.  X is probably problematic but not impossible.

If you love new words, want to improve your child’s vocabulary in a fantastically funny way that will hold his attention, or simply love reading alliterative prose,  It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . . you to borrow or buy   It’s an Absolutely Perfect Day For . . .

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It’s an absolutely perfect day for…

Author:  Queenie Mac    website
Illustrator:  Catherine G. McElroy  website
Publisher: Catherine G. McElroy   facebook
Release Date: November 29, 2011
ISBN:  978-0-615-53177-9
Number of Pages: 36
Ages: 7+

A to Z Challenge Day 17: Q