The Z Was Zapped

Penned by the bestselling Caldecott Medal winning Chris van Allsburg, author of Jumanji and The Polar Express, you can rest assured that Z will not be just another story about letters. Instead, it is billed as ‘alphabet theatre’ by the author and a more apt name could not be found. This ‘play in twenty six acts’ is full of page after lovely page that describes each of the letters of the alphabet as though an action was happening to them. In most cases, that action is something dark and ominous; C for example, was cut to bits while the title letter Z was zapped. While it is true that a great many black and white stories fall short of truly capturing a youthful audience (with kids preferring the brightly colored alternatives), this one is different. The stark contrasts and interesting phrases are sure to keep kids of all ages entertained and enthralled.