WHATEVER WANDA WANTED

Can an over-indulged girl survive on a desert island? Not only does Wanda survive—she thrives. In flower-power paintings splashed with lemon and lavender, British newcomer Wisdom shows Wanda's busy, guilt-ridden parents buying her everything she wants to make up for the time they spend away from her ("As the years passed, the gifts grew greater. Life-sized dolls, whale-sized wading pools, theater-sized TVs"). One day Wanda throws a tantrum because she can't have a garish kite she fancies. "A truly remarkable kite, but beware,/ It can do horrible things when it's up in the air!" the shopkeeper warns. The kite, with a crafty, sloe-eyed expression and a will to match the heroine's, carries wailing Wanda off into the sky and dumps her on an uninhabited island. After emerging from her dejection, Wanda discovers that she can cook, make tools and even entertain a blue whale, who kindly gives her a ride home once the heroine realizes what is really important: "I don't miss my fancy clothes or TV, or any of my toys. I just really, really miss my mom and dad." Didactic though the tale might be ("Stick with me and you will see/ we don't need to live like kings!/ And I've decided anyway.../ There's more to life than things!" says Wanda at the close), the sly text gives the message plenty of spice, and the sophisticated art will likely please children and adults alike. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)