General Store — Rachel Field

The pictures in this book offer a cozy, nostalgic view of 1920s paraphernalia and the things that a small imaginative girl might have dreamed of. She envisions the general store that she will some day own, complete with potbellied stove, huge pickle barrels and sarsaparilla soda. Oversized pages provide a crisp white background for the useful items she'll stock: ``There'll be a little of everything/ bolts of calico, balls of string,/ jars of peppermint, tins of tea,/ pots, and kettles, and crockery. . . . '' Parker uses watercolors and colored pencils to illustrate Field's brief rhyming text; the overall effect is nostalgic and snug. Ages 5-up. (April)