Cherry Pies and Lullabies

Cherry pie is the appetizing first course in Reiser's (Best Friends Think Alike) mirthful celebration of domestic traditions. With each appearance of the treat, a new generation is marked: fresh-picked cherries are baked in the homemade pies of the narrator's great-grandmother on the farm; cherries are retrieved from a tin can in the grandmother's suburban kitchen; cherries come frozen in the microwave pie that the narrator's business-suited, urban mother ""bakes"" for her; and cherries are made from clay in the pie the girl serves her teddy bear. ""Every time it was the same, but different,"" sings the refrain. After the pies, Reiser offers similar treatment to family traditions of making garlands of flowers (once gathered in fields, now wrapped from the florist) and quilts (once hand-sewn, now store-bought). But when Reiser turns to lullabies, she delivers a pleasing surprise: each mother sings them the very same way. (Music for Brahms's ""Lullaby"" appears at the end, with Reiser's lyrics.) The illustrations, flat and boldly outlined, are true to Reiser's established style. The depictions of women border on stereotype--the great-grandmother with her spectacles and old-fashioned bib apron; grandmother with her perky '50s hairdo and sewing machine--but Reiser's attention to the reworking of similar detail in each frame is commendable and her gently poked fun a warmly effective way to reinforce stories of family history. Ages 4-up. (Apr.) FYI: A bilingual companion volume, Tortillas and Lullabies/Tortillas y cancioncitas ($16, -14628-7), also by Reiser, uses a Costa Rican setting; it is due out simultaneously.