Just for Today

A prayer attributed to newly canonized Saint John XXIII, the pope who founded the watershed Second Vatican Council, is brought to gorgeous illustrated life by Italian illustrator Landmann (In Search of the Little Prince). The saint’s prayer is described as a “decalogue for daily living,” and spread after spread depicts a school-age boy in his daily activities, from awakening and getting dressed to reading a book at bedtime—Landmann depicts her own book. “Just for today” begins a series of injunctions that constitute a gentle invocation (“Just for today, I will try to live for this day alone”). The setting is ostensibly modern—clocks hang on walls—but a landscape filled with turrets, towers, and the blue hues of (presumably) Mediterranean sea and sky lend a slightly magical quality to the scenes. Multiple details are charmingly incongruous: miniature figures are tucked into several images, and birds abound, including an owl in a classroom and a bird bearing a pocket watch on a string as the boy lolls on a beach. Visually irresistible and inspiring. All ages. (Apr.)