PERSEPHONE THE LADYBUG

Accomplished, atmospheric paintings of quaint subjects are the highlight of this Thumbelina-like tale from a debut author/ illustrator. The ladybug Persephone, depicted in the art as a kind of costumed child (she resembles a raven-haired, antenna-topped Shirley Temple wearing flouncy petticoats under a red polka-dot dress), resides with her similarly personified mother in a tulip. When a man cuts the tulip and brings it to market, Persephone (who doesn't yet fly) ends up in a bouquet at the Starchester Tea Shop and is quickly put to work, removing slugs from the strawberry plants, counting currants for the currant buns and other tasks. The genteel tone befits an era in which people still honor the teatime ritual, complete with costumes and furnishings—and in the presentation of Persephone as something of a Victorian victim. Frail and passive, she finds herself in increasingly dangerous circumstances when a gang of pack rats coerces her into helping them steal the shop's silver (a close-up offers readers an agreeably scary look at the rodents' orange eyes and at one rat gnawing on another's tail). Unfortunately, deus ex machina plotting, not Persephone's own resources, brings about her deliverance. Although the text is relatively lengthy, the illustrations offer enough period details to engage readers (a pomander in the linen cupboard, leaded windows, a tasseled key, etc.), all of which gain in charm when scaled to contrast with the tiny heroine. Ages 3-6. (May)