THE NAMING
by Margaret Greaves & illustrated by Pauline Baynes
In pairs, the animals come for their names, each kind also receiving an appropriate litany of traits (``Lion'' is ``splendor,'' ``strength,'' ``courage,'' ``danger'') and a benediction: ``Go, and be blessed''; only the dogs elect to stay with Adam, where they are soon discovered by the fleas (``leaper....vexation''). When all the others are named, the unicorn—the only mateless creature—arrives alone, with tears in its eyes; it is comforted with a special blessing: ``You will live always...sought and glimpsed but never captured.'' The well- told story comes vividly to life in its lovely illustrations. As she has for several biblical stories (Let There Be Light, 1991, etc.), Baynes uses gracefully telling lines and gleaming color to portray dozens of appealing animals, gathered into lively, beautifully balanced compositions sparkling with flowers like medieval tapestries. A charming tale and an intriguing dramatization of the power of names: a winner where unicorn stories are in demand (though this one will have to be pointed out: it's not on the jacket). (Picture book. 3-8)