Thanks Be to God: Prayers from Around the World

Between ``Dear God,'' the appropriate opening words of this reverent book, and the closing ``Amen'' of the Lord's Prayer lies a wealth of carefully selected religious material. The prayers range from a short, movingly direct English child's prayer (``Thank you, God, for this sunny morning, it makes me happy.'') to a longer--again English--paean to many creatures and things, including ``Bless the minnow, bless the whale, / Bless the rainbow and the hail. . . .'' Baynes's choices represent such diverse countries as Italy, Poland, Japan and India; Hebrew and Muslim prayers are also included. The book is beautifully designed: the prayers, generally beginning with an ornamented letter or small piece of art, occupy the top portion of each page, while the bottom is devoted to an abundance of widely varying paintings. These range from a Chauceresque banquet scene (suitably placed beneath an English invocation of 1527) to a stylized seascape with lurking monsters to a rhapsodic nature scene replete with cavorting animals. Child or adult, of whatever religious belief, it is difficult to remain unmoved by this splendid, life-affirming collection. All ages. (Feb.)