The Dreamer

The inspired re-pairing of Rylant and Moser, whose previous collaborative effort yielded the evocative and deeply personal Appalachia , proves that the talented author and artist share more than geography. This time around they offer a fanciful yet reverent interpretation of Genesis. Imagining God as a ``young artist who lived all alone, quietly, and who spent his days as most young artists do: daydreaming,'' Newbery Medalist Rylant ( Missing May ) endows the story with both compassion and caprice. Deciding to ``make what he saw in his mind,'' the artist fashions a star, followed by heavens, then earth, etc., and finally, ``a new artist in his own image. Shyly pleased with himself, he made another one. He loved the company. He made one more.'' Moser's design alternates stark white pages showing life-size watercolor illustrations of a pair of hands (crafting stars with scissors, sketching the human form with a fountain pen) with color-drenched panoramas of the artist's ``creations.'' That the creator's hands are Caucasian may be inappropriate; however, a spread of the artist's ``children'' depicts them as a multi-ethnic assembly. All ages. (Oct.)