Excellent illustrations, clever idea. ( )

Bibliographic Information: Jerry Pallotta, “The Skull Alphabet Book”, Illustrated by Ralph Masiello, Published by Charlesbridge Publishing, ©2002, 30 pages
Genre: ABC Book
Summary: This book contains skulls but that’s not all it also teaches you the presidents. President pictures are hidden on most pages. The skulls are of mostly animals and it doesn’t tell you the animal but gives you hints. Then you have to figure the animal out and on some pages there are some hidden hints on the page.
Tags: Boys, Bones, Seek and Figure out, Adventurous
My Response: I really liked this book with all the hidden extras. It makes you think and though I’m older than what most would consider for this book I still found it hard to figure out some of the skulls. It is a very adventurous book and I am sure boys would absolute love this book.

This alphabet book is tricky, as it is really a collection of puzzles and riddles. Readers must guess the animal whose skull has been artfully drawn on each page based only on the given clues and illustrations. It is truly very tricky! I enjoyed this book, and would use it with older students in a group as part of a study on problem solving or inference. One could even divide students into groups, assigning different letters for the students to solve together using internet resources and other books in the classroom. This would also be a good book to read as part of a science unit on dinosaurs or forensics, as the questions students ask will also be ones experts in those fields ask. ( )

An interesting addition to Jerry Pallotta's series of alphabet books, it's science instruction and puzzle book in one. It features the skulls of mammals from A to Z, but the reader must figure out what the animal is from the full page illustrations and Pallotta's quirky text. It's not too hard...here's an example: "F is for.... Brains are mushy. Skulls protect brains. Skulls also protect the organs of four senses: hearing, smell, taste, and sight. A sly person can identify this skull - there are only three letters in its name." The illustration shows a chicken standing on the skull!
If science and deduction are not enough, you can play "I Spy". The presidents of the United States are hidden in the illustrations. Answers can be found "somewhere in the book". You have to figure that out, too!

This book would be great for children who are studying animals' skeletal systems. The author invites the reader to figure match the animal to its skull. It's intriguing, but a bit spooky too! ( )