I AM CHRISTMAS

A religious picture book with a delightful conceit—taking words from the Scriptures (referenced in the back) and constructing a prose poem around them—that becomes tedious. Impressionistic pictures follow Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem: ``I am the way they walk—these, people, who pass up hill and down going to the town to be counted. I am the vine fruitful with branches growing entwined by the side of the road.'' The formula is always the same, a sentence per page, neither telling a story nor achieving a poetic effect. The word which stands for Jesus is always printed in a different color from the rest of the text, tying into the illustrations. These are obviously related to Joseph and Mary's trip to Bethlehem, but they might as well be generic Bible scenes somewhat romanticized: In one, a man in a monk's habit kisses a woman who may or may not be Mary, while the trees behind them swoon. (Picture book. 4-8)