E is for Esoteric: 2014 Alphabet Books Get Creative

What is it about the alphabet that gives artists the license to get weird? Historically, the alphabet book is one of the earliest American children’s book forms. You know. “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.” That kind of thing. I’m certain someone has already written, or is in the process of writing, the full-blooded history of American abecedarian outings for the young, so I won’t delve into such matters to any great length.

Now every year we get some wacky alphabet titles in the mix. The usual...