ONCE THERE WERE GIANTS

A small child's ""Ages of [Wo] Man""--in a nicely cadenced text that repeats and varies a litany of family members (""Mom and Dad and Jill and John and Uncle Tom"") who appear in a series of occasions spanning a generation. When ""the small one on the rug is me,"" the others seem to be giants. Half a dozen takes later, ""The one being scolded [in nursery school] is me!"" As the girl grows older, she comes up smiling after a punching match with her big brother; is a winning hurdler; and finally marries and has a baby of her own: "". . .and one of the Giants is. . .ME!"" As they grow and mature, Dale follows this nice family in lively, full-color art. Her work is not quite so deft or sure as Shirley Hughes', but it's a worthy companion to it, and very much in the same spirit.