Radiant, childlike collages fairly exude joy in this eye-catching version of the Creation story. The text, as in Greene's The Stable Where Jesus Was Born, consists of modified cumulative rhymes—not all phrases reappear in predictable order, but stable rhythm and judicious use of repetition create a stately structure: "This is the heaven, so skillfully framed,/ a glorious firmament God breathed and named,/ that glowed in the light, brilliant and bright." Wilson's (A Gift for the Christ Child) illustrations turn these agreeable verses into cause for celebration. Rendering her work with what the publisher identifies as printing inks and collaged papers, the artist uses strong color fields to suggest that "brilliant and bright" light; her first spread shows the blue-green planet Earth encircled in tropical blues and oranges. As the text introduces each aspect of Creation, the pictures grow more detailed and incorporate a rich variety of patterns. At the same time, a carefully maintained naïve perspective and bold, streamlined compositions give even Wilson's most complex illustrations a seemingly effortless immediacy. Beautiful indeed. Ages 3-8. (Mar.)
