GRANDMA ESSIE'S COVERED WAGON

Recounting the early experiences of his grandmother, born in 1901, Williams describes ``in mostly her words'' her journey from Missouri to Kansas with a large family, including a baby sister and an older, pregnant one and her husband; later, drought pushed them on to ``Mama's folks...part Indian,'' in Oklahoma; still later, they went to the boomtown of Big Heart, where the men labored in the oil fields and one sister died; finally, Essie returned to Missouri. Williams works a goodly number of authentic details—school, festivities, pastimes, etc.—into his straightforward narrative. The Polish artist, making his US debut, provides beautifully designed paintings, luminous with carefully understated color—but though he seems to have studied his subject, he doesn't catch the flavor of the period or the plains: trees are noble and ancient while rooms are too ample and high-ceilinged; characters are stiff and generic, animals out of scale. Still, an attractive piece of Americana. (Biography/Picture book. 4-10)