Nightfall, Country Lake

The purity and beauty of nature are strikingly depicted in this less-is-more picture book. Cunningham evokes the sights and sounds of a rural eventide with muted pastel artwork on the right-hand pages, choosing one or two words to appear opposite (the book contains only 24 words in all). After contemplating the ``stillness'' of a lakeside dock, a boy goes home to bed, lulled to sleep by ``just crickets.'' Serenity pervades these pages, from their clean, spare design to the illustrations' thoughtful composition and soft colors. Several of the pictures use varying shades of a single tone; green hues, for example, depict a lone rowboat tied to a pier, about to be enveloped in ``evening mist.'' Fitting nocturnal notes occasionally break this eloquent quiet: ``Father's voice,'' a frog's ``C-R-O-A-K!,'' the ``splash!'' of a fish and a bird's ``last song.'' The mission here is neatly defined by the book's dedication, ``to those children who have the patience to observe.'' Ages 6-9. (Mar.)