Noah's Trees

Picture books about Noah's Ark abound, but few have the quiet beauty of Le Tord's (God's Little Seeds) portrait of a gentle, caring man who obeys God's commands without question or doubt. And few books convey so much with such simplicity: ""Noah loved God and God trusted him,"" this text begins. Noah is happy planting and tending his ""little trees"" and imagining a future for his wife and three sons. But Noah does not hesitate when God announces his plan for a great flood and directs Noah to build an ark ""out of your favorite trees."" Just before the rain begins, Noah carries aboard little green saplings, a gesture of hope for beginning a new life in a new world. Le Tord omits mention of the Flood as a punishment for the wicked; her story is about Noah's relationship with God, and her Noah doesn't need to understand God's reasons. Her tender, gauzy-edged watercolors in fruity hues feature a sweetly smiling Noah, youthful in spite of his cottony white beard. In a crisp design, the simple, poetic text flows in centered paragraphs on each page. In a laudable departure from most books on the subject, Le Tord places the two-by-two parade of animals in the background, metaphorically and in her art, and underscores the deeper aspects of Noah's unshakable faith. Ages 4-6. (Oct.)