Angels

This simple book is aimed at family bedtime, with its minimal, incantatory text (“Angels, angels, fill the air,/ coming down from way up there”) and pastel palette. Since angels are nondenominational and figure in a multitude of religions, the book offers an easy introduction to a supernatural concept without being religiously prescriptive. Lumbard (The Conference of the Birds) offers an understated text for the visual fireworks of illustrator Weedn, who is well known for her inspirational work. Weedn’s visual signature of soft colors and lines dominates the book. Angels can be anodyne, and the book leans in that direction, but it is also soothing and spiritually generous. Ages 2–up. (Oct.)