A JOURNEY TO PARADISE

Though LC catalogs this as fiction, the author cites (on the jacket only) an Indian tale about ""a gardener's monkey who rides to Paradise on an elephant"" as her source, to which she has added several characters. These include a potter, a spice merchant, and a weaver, who all cling to the gardener and his pet, hoping for sublimated versions of the materials used for their earthly crafts. When the gardener, in an enthusiastic moment, lets go of the elephant's tail, they all fall back to earth--where they see its tresures with newly appreciative eyes. Siberell's crisp, colorful collages evoke the setting's flavor.