ABC of Animals

A is for Antelope, B for the Bee — twenty-six animals and a rhyme apiece, printed on linen in 1913 so a small child could not tear it.

Curious Facts

Everything below is in the book — each one links straight to the page it comes from.

  1. X is for the Xantho — a crab. The alphabet's hardest letter goes to a real crustacean: "X is for the Xantho, a sort of a crab, If caught, with its pinchers your hand it will grab." Read it in the book →
  2. U is for Umber — a color lesson in disguise. "U is for Umber, so called from its color, Which is cinnamon brown, or possibly duller" — the umber bird, named for the pigment. Read it in the book →
  3. N is for Narwhal, horn and all. A toddler's alphabet that includes the narwhal — "the horn which is found on the male" — is an alphabet that respects its audience. Read it in the book →
  4. The family horses are named. "H is for Horse you all know so well, We have two of them now, Jerry and Nell" — the book speaks as one household to another. Read it in the book →
  5. The lobster's fate is part of its verse. "L is for the Lobster that lives in the sea, Which, after being boiled, gets as red as can be" — dinner, frankly acknowledged, between K and M. Read it in the book →
  6. The ostrich verse is a fashion report. "O is for Ostrich with plumage so rare, Which on their hats most women wear" — 1913, the peak of the plume trade, recorded for children. Read it in the book →
  7. The falcon comes with a history lesson. "Used in Old England to catch birds in the air" — falconry, in one rhyming line. Read it in the book →
  8. A child's Christmas is written on the last page. The final scan carries an inscription in a young hand: "Bitty Jane Lake from Dorther, Xmas 1914" — this exact copy was a Christmas present a year after it was printed. Read it in the book →
Rights & ReuseThe complete text of ABC of Animals (1913) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.