Lullaby for Emily

Kherdian's lilting lullaby addresses a cherished child named Emily-in spot art she is portrayed as an infant being cuddled by her mother, but in each long stanza (and its accompanying full-or double-page illustration) she is visited in the future, happily engaged in an activity imagined by her mother. Whether Emily is pictured with a puppy or picking wildflowers ``to see/ does he love me yes, or does he love me not,'' the tone is hushed and loving, each verse beginning with some variation of ``Sleep gently, sweet Emily.'' Hogrogian's evocative oil paintings depict classic playtime pleasures-jumping in the hay, climbing a tree-and children might find the sweet portraits of the mother and her baby reassuring. Even so, the book is more suitable for a new parent or grandparent than for a toddler because of its complicated depiction of time and such abstract passages as the peaceful ending stanza: ``one day brings another,/ there is no end to time,/ sleep gently, sleep sweetly/ for love is all around.'' Ages 4-7. (Mar.)