MOLLY AND THE STRAWBERRY DAY

From the early-morning moment when Molly's dad ruefully remarks that they'll soon "have strawberries coming out of our ears," the day begun by the little girl and her parents at a pick-your-own field is one of companionable good humor. The farmer, weighing Molly, declares that she's eaten more than 100 berries and thus owes "an extra two cents"; they take home enough berries not only to preserve but also to set around as decorations (even on sofa cushions), to eat with ice cream — and with spaghetti, and to make a facial for Mom. And that night, after a bath with berries in it, Molly really does have berries in her ears when she says good night. It's rather a slight idea, developed with more success in Conrad's amusingly childlike details than in Szilagyi's brash illustrations. Though the richly colored illustrations are artfully designed, the minimal characterizations and weightless figures are distancing (and how those berries stay in Molly's ears is a mystery). Still, worth a try, especially when it's time to joke about the overabundance of some crop. (Picture book. 3-7)