Noah's Ark

With childlike verve, the talented colorist Cousins adapts the Bible story into a picture book for the very young. The familiar gathering of animals two by two onto the ark before the great flood takes on a gentle and joyous tone as expressed by Cousins's brief and simple sentences and by her naive painted figures. Noah wears a kind, comforting smile and provides the benevolent leadership this story calls for. The text will naturally have added appeal for those seeking an introduction to the literature of the Bible; however, the book's airy design and playfully rendered creatures should attract a large audience. Endpapers featuring a brilliant menagerie of passengers great and small are not to be missed. Ages 2-up. (Aug.)