WHO IS COMING TO OUR HOUSE?

Animals in a stable ponder the identity of expected visitors and prepare for them: ""'We must clean,' says Lamb. 'Dust the beams,' says Ram."" The gently cadenced couplets finally reveal the arrival of Mary and Joseph. In deft linoleum-block prints enriched with bright, warm colors, Wolff portrays her animals with unusual sympathy and occasional touches of humor (the mouse perches on the ox's head)--gathering a lovely Peaceable Kingdom, each creature wonderfully observed. Though the effect is an easy simplicity, there are rewarding details--delicate cobwebs; dusty light from the setting sun pouring through the stable window; a glimpse of the Star while the animals are still anxiously awaiting the arrival--and the illustrations complement the quiet text in building a drama of reverence and adoration. A lovely addition to the Christmas canon.