PAUL THURLBY'S ALPHABET BOOK. Copyright © 2011 by Paul Thurlby. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.M isn’t for mustache. I checked. But if you dig retro-modern design and a book that feels like buttah, you’re going to want this one for your kid’s bookshelf… or your own coffee table.

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet is a swoon-worthy collection of paintings so hip that they look like you dug them out of a lime green vintage suitcase on Portobello Road. The artist often uses old book covers, postcards, and vintage ephemera to add to the charm, so the images have a worn texture and delicious warmth that you don’t usually see in ABC books. I love the unusual word choices, such as F for Fierce and T for Trapeze. But I’ve got to admit that my favorite illustration is V… for Vicious.~Delilah

Find Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet at your local indie bookstore or at our affiliate, Amazon. If you want art on the wall instead of trapped between pages, you can buy Paul Thurlby prints straight from the artist.