Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes

August's ( In the Month of Kislev ) ambient illustrations go a long way toward stretching this slight if well-told tale into a full-course offering. Shiefman ( Good-bye to the Trees ) dishes up a family whose resources are so scant that ``all they had to eat was potatoes.'' On Sunday they eat potatoes, on Monday and so on through the week. ``But, on Saturday, guess what they ate. Potato pudding!'' The author's pacing is excellent, but the story would be little without the art. August, using linoleum cuts and paints, conjures up an archetypal village in the old country; people cluster on its narrow, curving streets, and neighbors lean from shuttered windows to join in the chatter. Spires and turrets rise amid rolling hills, enhancing the mitteleuropaische flavor. The architecture, like the story, never becomes somber: the artist brushes on thick dabs of color, mottling the backgrounds with an eye-catching, sophisticated blend of pastels. She adds a suggestion of drama to the narrative--as the days of the week unfold, she shows the family members becoming increasingly restive (by Friday, the mother who has cooked the potatoes furiously orders her defiant family to the dinner table). A recipe for potato pudding is included. Ages 3-6. (May)