Soup of Alphabets, Volume 002

Who knew twenty-six letters could taste this good? This serving of alphabet books spans centuries and moods, from the irascible cries of Victorian London street vendors to Edward Lear's gloriously nonsensical limericks that have made generations of children laugh at the impossibility of their own language. Hilaire Belloc brings his infamous wit to the table, skewering society through alphabetic verse that works equally well as satire or bedtime fun. Baseball fans get their own ABC, a quirky time capsule of America's pastime rendered in vintage style. The collection winds through tongue-twisters that tangle the tongue and early readers that once taught Victorian children their letters. What emerges is a surprising truth: the alphabet, that most fundamental of human inventions, has always been an excuse for play. These aren't primer books for learning to read. They're celebrations of what you can do once you already know how.