THE BLACK SHEEP

The shepherd worries about his black sheep, a loner who doesn't want to follow him; escaping unsheared, she wanders on her own till one stormy winter night when she returns to her cave to find it full of light and occupied by a couple with a newborn child who weeps from the cold. He is soon comforted by the warmth of the black sheep's wool; and the shepherd is now content to depart with the rest of the flock. This variation on the familiar parable, implicitly linked with the Nativity, is told in direct, unadorned prose The one- and two-page watercolors illustrate a serene pastoral landscape, rich in deep blues and greens and the softer tones of winter. An attractive holiday book.