Love Can Build a Bridge [With Recording by Naomi and Wynonna Judd]

Judd, the elder half of country music's superstar mother-daughter duo The Judds, spins the lyrics of their hit song into a sentimental picture book about the ripple effect of love and good deeds. Each verse/ stanza speaks of making sacrifices in the name of love (""I'd gladly walk across the desert with no shoes upon my feet./ To share with you the last bite/ of bread I had to eat""); meanwhile, Duranceau (Follow the Moon) depicts pairs of multiracial children performing various kindnesses for each other. A girl shares her sandwich with a boy; that boy helps another boy who has fallen on the playground; the second boy visits a friend in the hospital, and so on. The chain of events shown in Duranceau's creamy, lifelike portraits captures Judd's theme: ""Love can build a bridge/ between your heart and mine,/ Love can build a bridge./ Don't you think it's time?"" Confusingly, one spread appears to break the continuous link between the children to begin a new succession of kid-to-kid encounters. Judd's call for harmony, respect and responsibility is inarguably worthwhile. That said, Judd's foreword, in which she describes ""hunkering down"" with her dog to watch a homeless man sleeping on a bench (and never offering him help) is an uncomfortable fit with her text. An audiocassette recording of the song is included. All ages. (May)