THE GOATHERD AND THE SHEPHERDESS

In this ancient tale, a shepherd happens across a foundling girl in Pan's cave and adopts her. When she is grown, she takes charge of the flock, which she tends with Daphnis, an orphan boy who was also raised by a farm couple and who is now a goatherd. He and the cowherd, Dorcon, vie for her affection, a rivalry resolved by the acts of heroism and selflessness that inform so many of the old tales. Hort treats his material with respect, capturing its love and yearning, allowing for the humor and human fallibility that other retellings neglect. Bloom's dazzling paintings have the stylized look of Greek statues that have become suddenly animate; impressionistic dabs illuminate Mediterranean skies. (Picture book. 4-8)