Cherries and Cherry Pits

The creator of A Chair for My Mother, Something Special for Me and other stories for children introduces us to another irresistible heroine. Bedemmi loves to draw pictures with colored markers and write stories that always start ""with the word THIS.'' Exquisitely decorated and deceptively simple, the book alternates between the narrator's spare descriptions and evocative watercolors, and Bedemmi's own captivating tales and vivid, imaginative drawings. The book's title refers to Bedemmi's storiesall of which involve folks ``eating cherries and spitting out the pits, eating cherries and spitting out the pits.'' What about all those pits? Bedemmi has an ``important plan.'' She will plant them in her yard so they will grow ``until there is a whole forest of cherry trees right on our block.'' Williams's latest work is another glowing tale of the transformational power of a child's creativity and love. (4-up)