Two by Two

Three-dimensional artwork of extraordinary richness highlights this verse retelling of the Noah story by the illustrator of The New Baby Calf. Reid's vibrantly colored, sculpted Plasticine illustrations give her pictures the illusion of depth seldom achieved with conventional techniques. The intricate spreads teem with activity rendered in real-as-life tactile detail: characters wear robes trimmed with textured embroidery; Noah's long beard descends in whorls like white icing on a cake; every painstakingly molded fin, feather and strand of fur on the arkful of animals begs to be touched. The palette is equally impressive, as the cloud-filled sky darkens and lightens again with the passing of the storm, and the deep blues of the sea offset the pinks and oranges of the sun-drenched landscape. There are cleverly crafted shifts in perspective, too, notably a bird's-eye-view of the animals boarding the ark. Only the text, consisting of original lyrics to a traditional tune, fails to match the art's sparkle: Reid tells the familiar tale in (occasionally limp) iambic tetrameter that sometimes sacrifices scansion for rhyme. Readers will nonetheless enjoy counting along as the animals--from the tiniest mice to the biggest elephants--clamber aboard this beguiling ark. Ages 5-8. (Apr.)