Gift ideas -- art, literature, books for children; Dubuffet, stylistic innovator; Dubuffet, by Andreas Franzke. Translated by Erich Wolf. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 282 pp. $100.

French artist Jean Dubuffet made more than one aborted start at painting before he devoted himself to it wholeheartedly in 1942 at the age of 41. The pictures he produced then were unlike anything else being painted. He developed a pictorial language of crayon colors and childlike iconography. He threw the illusionism of traditional technique to the winds and deliberately called attention to paint, assemblage materials, and canvas.

This collection includes a provocative monograph by art historian Franzke, extracts from the artist's studio notes, and essays, a bibliography, chronology, index, and list of exhibitions. Above all, there are the 376 reproductions - all beautifully presented, including 102 in full color.