Christmas Lullaby

Nancy Jewell. Clarion Books, $14.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-0-395-66586-2

Arresting illustrations mandate a good long look at this picture book. The text is a bit slight: gently lilting verse spotlights the animals' kind gifts to the Christ child upon His birth. But Vitale's stylized oil-on-wood paintings contain an appealing mix of reverence and joy. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)

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