AB@C

This is a book ofgramograms, little word puzzles where letters,numbers, and everyday symbols are spoken out loud to formwords and sentences. Gramograms have been around for ages, but the first person to pair them with drawings was New Yorkercartoonist William Steig, in his classic 1968 bookCDB!(See the Bee!). These days, with the ubiquitousness ofshorthand texting and the familiar “at” symbol in emailaddresses, we all have a bit moregramogramexperience, whether we realize it or not. AB@Cbuilds on the form that Steig revolutionized with all-newgramograms—new words, new settings, and a few newsymbols—each accompanied by aNew Yorker–stylecartoon that gives comedic context for the caption. (For instance,the book's cover art, a drawing of a bumblebee in a boat on the ocean, helps reveal the translation ofAB@C: "A bee at sea.")