Agent A To Agent Z

Amazon.com
Can Agent A complete his mission and uncover a rogue spy? Find out, in this silly, spy-themed alphabet book by illustrator-author Andy Rash (The Robots Are Coming) as you walk through the alphabet one letter (and one secret agent) at a time.

Agent A receives an urgent mission from the boss: "Every spy who is official/ uses words with his initial./ But one spy is out of line./ I need to know his name by nine." So the faithful agent takes off, racing through the alphabet to find the troublemaker: "Agent B correctly chooses/ Blue and so the Bomb defuses"; "Agent C is Crawling up/ the window using suction Cups." Crossing suspects off his list, Agent A works his way through a goofy, bumbling crew of colleagues who wear all sorts of crazy gear to complete their missions: "Agent I is Incognito,/ posing as a large mosquito". All the stories check out, until Agent A makes a startling discovery that could get him kicked out of the agency (and make him miss the big Agent Dance!).

ANNOTATION

A spy named Agent A inspects his fellow spies, all similarly named after letters of the alphabet.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Agent A is on assignment to find the spy not in alignment. whose actions don't quite match his name? Want to join A in the game? It might look easy, but it's not. Here's one alphabetic lot: "Agent B correctly chooses blue, and so the bomb defuses." "Agent C is crawling up the window using suction cups." All the way from A To Z, not one dud rhyme will you see, and it's all drawn with style and flash by The Amazing Agent Rash. Enjoy the mission! best of luck. and now this page will self-destruct.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

With Austin Powers, Maxwell Smart and MAD magazine's Spy vs. Spy as his muses, Rash (The Robots Are Coming) sends Agent A on a mission through the alphabet to find a mole. "Every spy who is official/ uses words with his initial," the spymaster (who bears a striking resemblance to Edward G. Robinson) tells the hero. "But one spy is out of line./ I need to know his name by nine." Accordingly, Agent A tails Agent E, who "did not Expect/ what happened when he pressed Eject," and eventually enters the Bond-like lair (the 1960s styling includes a round bed) of comely Agent S, who "Subdues a Spy/ by letting her Stiletto fly." It's a cool concept, especially for children who believe they've outgrown ABC books but find espionage enthralling. Rash's deadpan digital cartoons slyly spoof the undercover world as a place where the sun seldom shines and agents always dress in black and sport the same steely demeanor. At the same time, Rash celebrates the aura of menace, the top-secret intrigue, the neat-o equipment (a Jet pack, a tranquilizing dart). There's good fun here for any aspiring spy who's looking for a reason to come in from the cold. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Carolyn Mott Ford

The secret agents are named from A to Z, but one is not official because he fails to use words with his initial. Which spy is it? Agent A is assigned to find out. The reader will try to guess the miscreant and help Agent A to solve his case. As the alphabetic agents are all sent out on missions, Agent A sets out in the dark of night to find the spy not using his own initial. Agent B is defusing a bomb and he snips the blue wire, thereby rendering the bomb harmless and, in the process using the letter B. One by one, all the agents are checked out, even Agent Z who fulfills the requirement by riding a Zamboni. Kids may spot the failing spy before they've finished reading the book, but they'll continue to the end nonetheless. This is a quick read, a novel approach to the alphabet, and the illustrations are cartoon secret agent perfect. 2004, Arthur A Levine Books/Scholastic Press, Ages 4 to 8.

Library Journal

Gr 1-3-In a takeoff on Mission Impossible, cartoonist Rash sets up a clever plot for an alphabet book. The narrative begins before the title page when Agent A receives a message ordering him to find a bogus spy who does not use a word beginning with his or her initial. He sets off and makes his way through the list of agents, each of whom is described in a rhyming couplet ("Agent I is Incognito, posing as a large mosquito"). Some couplets scan better than others ("Agent C is Crawling up/the window using suction Cups"). "Agent N decodes a Note/to learn that it was one he wrote." "Agent W attacks/a spy she didn't know was Wax." However, the theme is fun and well executed. The humorous illustrations, drawn in ink and digitally colored, are filled with the stuff of spy thrillers: black backgrounds or frames, shadows, an overhead bulb casting a triangle of light in a dark office, and Agent A skulking around every corner. Small black smudges add texture. The spies themselves are especially ridiculous with their silly disguises, nutty kung-fu moves, and abundant mishaps. Youngsters may guess the surprise ending before this crazy caper concludes, but they'll definitely enjoy the mission.-Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews