Cece Bell’s laugh-out-loud-funny Animal Albums From A to Z kicks off with a note about how she loves “finding and acquiring old albums, especially those created by animal musicians.” She then proceeds to present with wholehearted dedication and sincerity her collection of (fictional) animal record albums, starting with an armadillo on an accordion and ending with zebras playing zydeco.
In order from A to Z, the recto of each spread features a brilliantly composed album cover with rich colors, indelible characters and track listings, which offer song titles that alone hint at eccentric and enchanting settings and characters beyond what’s featured in the book.
Lyrics for one song from each album are printed on the verso, and every set is a world of its own containing vivid characters, bizarre story lines and plenty of humor. There’s the armadillo with an “aromatic armpit”; the dramatic love triangle of Bud, Betty and Brad in the form of a barbershop tune sung by beagles; a “teeny tiny teacup toad”; and much more. It’s fortunate that the lyrics to “Whoa, That Weevil Is Weird,” which tell the story of Miss Tanya, who can juggle two fleas and a pea, make the cut for this collection. Expect giggles: Readers will struggle to keep a straight face during lyrics for songs like “Dare I Suggest a Different Deodorant” by Darryl and the Dodo Devilettes; “Edith’s Ensemble Is So Embarrassing” by Ella Fontaine; and “Our Umpire’s Out with an Ulcer” by Ursula Umbrellabird.
Bell, who received a Newbery Honor for El Deafo, a graphic novel memoir about her hearing loss, demonstrates here that music is for everyone. She covers a wide range of genres: Western swing, surf music, rockabilly, jazz, folk and lots more. Backmatter includes biographies for each animal artist and a QR code that takes fans to recordings of the songs. Animal Albums, which will surely go down as one of the year’s top picture books, is the best kind of weird and wonderful—from A to Z.
