FFreezing ABC Author:Posy Simmonds After selling out of the original hardcover edition, this innovative adventure in learning the alphabet is now a Dragonfly paperback. — Publishers Weekly: A bitter wintry wind blows as four unlikely friends-a duck, cat, anteater and bear-leave their unheated home in search of warm lodging. The animals encounter every letter of the alphabet ... more »as they roam; the "E-Elephant" has a cozy but crowded house, the "F-Fox" looks too hungry for the duck's comfort and the "G-Goat" lives in a haunted mansion. The British author/artist sometimes gropes to fit sequential letters into the story (e.g., "insects hibernating" in an "I-Igloo"). By the time the letters X and Y come along, though, readers won't bat an eye at the xylophone-playing yak. Besides, thanks to Simmonds's icy illustrations, the Ernest Shepard-esque characters' plight takes precedence over the alphabetic premise. Gray outlines trimmed in blue evoke the tundra-like outdoors; accents of warm yellow and pink signify snug indoor lairs; and charcoal gray blended with pine green indicates a shadowy nightfall. Such details as a kangaroo that donates its sweater to the shivering anteater, and an umbrella that passes from a skunk to the bear to an angry wolf carry through from page to page and encourage repeat readings. Ages 4-8.« less