Alphabet Soup

Kate Banks and illustrator Peter Sis created something genuinely lovely here: a boy who would rather daydream than eat his alphabet soup fishes letters from his bowl, spells words, and watches them come to life — a bear appears, and the two of them have a quiet adventure through teacups and the imagination. Sis won the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his illustration career, and the soft pastels and honey-colored text panels in this book show exactly why. Booklist called it imaginative and fresh and especially appealing to daydreamers, which is exactly the right description. The caveat is minor: the story is intentionally simple, so older readers who've outgrown picture books won't find much narrative here. For preschool through early elementary read-alouds, though, this is a small gem that celebrates words and imagination in the best possible way.