A Grandmother's Story

An unpretentious verse--using such evocative descriptions as ``the dazzle of dawn's spangled light''--tells of a grandmother who, obeying her intuition, ``rowed out to sea.'' There she rescues her grandson, washed up following a storm, near ``a cold granite stone.'' Imbued with the power of myth, this spare plot fuels an affecting and original story. While the grandmother says little, the scope of her love is far-reaching. The book concludes with a sort of benediction to the old woman's experience: ``What a wonder the heart is; how wise it can be, / and as strong and as deep as our mother, the sea.'' Halak's bold, unadorned art features patches of bright colors depicting the many moods of the sea and sky. An interesting design element--and one that attractively unifies each spread--is the single-color panel accompanying the text on the left page echoing the colors and patterns of the opposite full-page illustration. This unusual book offers an intriguing blend of minimal art and text. All ages. (May)