FRANNIE'S FRUITS

Frannie's Fruits"" is the family stand, set on open farming land near a large body of water. Wherever the stand may be, it carries more than local produce: Texarkana oranges, California grapes, bananas, and strawberries share space with flowers and blackberries that customers sometimes pick for themselves. The story makes a pleasant portrait of a family enterprise, revealing it to be no more eventful than the purchase of a huge watermelon, the arrival of swimmers from the beach, or an artist posing with a sunflower can make it. Mathers makes the most of the expansive seaward vistas, the brilliant colors of of the produce, and the humorously understated facial expressions; her clean sense of color and design is a pleasure. A fine venture into social studies.