WHEN IT SNOWED THAT NIGHT

Forget the legions of contrived tales about this animal or that making its way to the Manger; the late Farber (d. 1984), in an imaginative cycle of poems—whimsical, lyrical, and wise- -introduces a dozen creatures, follows their intersecting journeys, celebrates (in the title poem) the moment when they all help keep the melting snow from the Baby (``Cricket clung fast to a ceiling-hole,/Dove plugged a gap with his beak...Giraffe held his head against a crack...and the Three Grand Kings/raised a parasol...'') and, for balance, embellishes the story with three Queens who ``came late, but not too late,'' bringing ``a homespun gown of blue,/and chicken soup'' before hurrying home to their own children and chores. Farber's lucid, elegantly designed paintings glow with color and light, with just a touch of humor and another of awe. Lovely. (Poetry/Picture book. 4+)