ZigZag by Julie Paschkis

ZigZag by Julie Paschkis.  Enchanted Lion, 2023. 9781592704026
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Format: Hardcover picture book
What did you like about the book? This clever book is filled with words, fun words like shiver, sass, slurp, sliver and sip because ZigZag, an alligator, liked to taste words. “He liked to hold them in his long mouth and roll them around.  Swivel was slippery and slightly sour.” “ Harmonica tasted like honey. Grackle crackled and was crunchy.” Each word that Zigzag tastes is accompanied by that word’s illustration and accompanying sounds like “golly, gladly, moony, melody, clack, creak, crack”.  One day, however, as he was enjoying the exquisite taste of Tambourine , he accidentally swallowed the word and all the vowels -a, e, I, o, u with it, resulting in TMBRN !  What to do?  Words had lost their meaning: Apple was now ppl .  He must figure out how to get the vowels back.
The wonderful illustrations, looking to be done in pen and ink, are so detailed, with texture that is filled with lines going every way imaginable, shading, an abundance of color and a lot of movement.  There is a classic feel, an Eastern European flavor not unlike a Ukrainian easter egg making it a feast for the eyes and the abundance of sounds are just fun to read aloud.
Anything you did not like about the book? No.
To whom would you recommend this book? Given the busyness of the illustrations, this might be best shared one-on-one or in a very small group so everyone can enjoy.  Grades 2-3.
Who should buy this book? Public and K-1 libraries
Where would you shelve it? Picture books
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes, I think so, as it is very imaginative and attractive.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Katrina Yurenka, Retired Librarian, Contributor, Youth Services Book Review
Date of Review:  July 2, 2023