A Blue Butterfly

Creating a picture book about an extraordinary painter and his work without using that artist's paintings is a very large gamble, but Le Tord wins big in this visual poem about the French Impressionist master. Incorporating the familiar imagery of haystack, cathedral, lily pond and seascape into radiant watercolors, Le Tord shows a kindly-looking old man busy at his easel in all manner of weather. Her haiku-like text provides just enough information to inspire the reader's imagination. Water lilies, for example, ``unfold their secrets to the light.'' Le Tord's illustrations, sweet and childlike, share Monet's palette but depart from his style. Nevertheless, her interpretation preserves a sense of his towering spirit. From her delightful title illustration of a tiny Monet standing in his balcony at Giverny to a final glimpse of a blue butterfly in the garden, Le Tord does herself, and Monet, proud. A list of American and French museums housing Monet's paintings is included. All ages. (Sept.)