ONLY ONE

A concept book that works its way from ``There may be a million stars,/But there is only one sky'' and ``50,000 bees,/But...only one hive'' through 500, 100, and by ones from 12 down. Some of the ``many'' are actually parts comprising a whole (``9 players'' make ``one team''); others are portions of a greater whole (the wheels on a wagon); still others are contained by the one (peas in a pod); and a dime is equal to, but physically separate from, ten pennies. There's a sometimes tenuous logic here—and concluding with ``only one me and...only one you'' is a warm sentiment but has little to do with what precedes it. Garrison's Another Celebrated Dancing Bear (1991) was on the New York Times's ``Ten Best Illustrated'' list; these ``collagraphs'' (collages are used as printing plates; watercolor is added to the resulting images) are in a related style. The decorative, stylized art is handsomely designed and richly textured, but these dark, static, sophisticated pictures will have far more appeal for adults than children. Marginal unless budgets are ample. (Picture book. 3-8)