goes on sale this week. Although it is set on "the remote island of Fishook'', there are no prizes for guessing which island Mrs. Kaufmann had in mind when she wrote it.

"I didn't call it Bermuda as I wanted people to realise it could be any island, any place, to give it more depth,'' she explains.

Rainbow, which the author expects to appeal to a broad age group of children, is a visually beautiful volume, every page lavishly illustrated with Ms Cooper's watercolour pictures.

There was never any doubt as to which artist Mrs. Kaufmann wanted to illustrate the book: "I have known Dana since she was a baby and although I had no pre-conceived ideas of how I wanted it illustrated, I knew as soon as I saw what she had in mind, that it was perfect.'' There has also been a happy collaboration between Dana Cooper and the book's designer, Jane Pearson. They worked together at AAC for several years and, says Ms Cooper, "We knew how to work together. For instance, when the fish in the Angelica story swims out to sea, the text swims out with it! I knew I couldn't design it myself. The design and production is an entirely separate process in producing a book. We pooled our talents and I think it's worked well.'' Mrs. Kaufmann agrees. "It's vital that the text and illustrations of a book are completely integrated. It was Dana and Jane's idea to take the patchwork quilt and make that the illustration motif for the whole book.'' Mrs. Kaufmann says she has always told children's stories: "I told my own kids stories to keep them quiet and to entertain them in the days before TV.

Now, I tell stories to my grandchildren.'' The idea of creating a book out of the stories occurred while she was pursuing an English Literature course at McGill University in Montreal. The ensuing volume was written for her final examination, and her tutor, Professor Ronald Reichertz, encouraged her to publish it.

Originally, she says, the book was dedicated to her grandchildren, but as it progressed, she thought it important that the stories were reflective of all the different ethnic groups in Bermuda. Roxana Kaufmann describes the storybook children: "You could tell at a glance they weren't related as they came in assorted sizes, shapes and colours. Yet they shared the same last name and a bond of friendship.'' Mrs. Kaufmann freely admits that the setting of the stories are based on fact, recalling that there really was a group of children who used to gather at her house. And it was her mother-in-law, Mrs. Loadi Kaufmann, who made patchwork quilts for all the children, calling them calypso quilts. "But the stories themselves,'' she adds, "are largely fantasy.'' Rainbow is a collection of stories related to a Magic Circle of children who gather on Thursdays at an old house called Tranquillity. The only requirement for membership of this magic circle is to share the last name of Bridge. After lunch with Granny Rock, the so-named Bridges retire to a tree-house and huddle chummily under a patchwork quilt, high in the branches of a spreading Royal Poinciana.

There, a chameleon, aptly named Rainbow because of his ability to change colour seemingly at whim, entertains the Bridge children with his stories.

Mrs. Kaufmann says her book, which she believes is the first Bermudian storybook, can be read aloud to very young children, but will also appeal to older children who can read it for themselves. "Then, of course, adults will read beyond the stories and find a deeper meaning.'' For there is indeed a moral to these tales. She explains that Bellsie, a most unusual cat, who loathes rats, loves water and follows a vegetarian diet, makes the point that it is not wise to stereotype: "Bellsie illustrates that life can be full of surprises!'' Angelica, the "exquisite Angelfish'' suffers from feelings of isolation and alienation which can only be overcome by love, while Naughty the Conch, in the last story, is a rebel who rejects his near-perfect environment, only discovering that the sea is not his prison but his haven, after the sea washes -- and strands him -- ashore.

For Dana Cooper, RG Magazine art director, Rainbow is her second book; she is also the author and illustrator of My Bermuda ABC. A graduate of Parsons School of Design and the National Academy of Design in New York, Ms Cooper won the Edward Mooney Award for the design of My Bermuda ABC.

Designer Jane Pearson studied at the Ipswich School of Art and was art director of a London-based advertising agency before moving to Bermuda in 1986.

Rainbow retails at $19.95. A book-signing at Cooper's will be on Friday, November 26 from 5.30 to 8.30 p.m. and a story-telling session on November 27 from 1 to 3 p.m.

TEAMWORK -- Creators of Rainbow -- a children's book catering to all ages -- are, from right, author Mrs. Roxanna Kaufmann, illustrator Ms Dana Cooper, and designer Mrs. Jane Pearson.

SMOOTH SAILING -- Bellsie the Cat -- like no other cat -- enjoying the ride on a boat.

LEVER CHAMELEON -- Rainbow is a key character.