Grandma

With art as vivid as Patricia MacCarthy's batik paintings in 17 Kings and 42 Elephants , and a character as funky as Auntie Mame or Helen Cresswell's Grandma Bagthorpe, first-time author Dexter's saga of a red-haired moppet's day at the beach with her grandmother radiates energy. By eight o'clock in the morning, Grandma has ``cleaned the whole house, weeded the vegetable garden and done enough baking for a month,'' and is ready to implement Mom and Dad's instructions to wear the child out--which she does. Although the text seems more like a listing of the day's activities than a story, good-natured asides (on the steep walk home, Grandma advises that ``it's easier if you go sideways, like crabs on the beach'') and the cheery illustrations add considerable characterization and action to the book, as when Grandma chases the girl with a crab or carries a suitcase on her head. A grandma who trumpets children awake, gets the highest score at the arcade and trims a tree with a chainsaw is bound to be irresistible. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)