Annie-- Anya: A Month in Moscow

When five-year-old Annie arrives with her parents for a monthlong visit in Moscow, she is less than overjoyed at this ``huge gray city'' where she can't get peanut butter and banana sandwiches and no one speaks English. But when the youngster is packed off to a Russian day care center, she gradually befriends Anya. The two girls exchange Russian and English words (they discover their dolls are named Katie and Katya) and Annie realizes that Russia is not so different from home after all. Though Trivas's ( Emma's Christmas ) pleasant text has genuinely appealing moments, it is ultimately uninspired. The book shoulders the triple burden of telling a story, fostering cross-cultural understanding and teaching Russian vocabulary. Indeed, this last imperative seems to be its real raison d'etre: the narrative virtually grinds to a halt as Trivas clumsily introduces Romanized Russian words and their translations into the story line. Her ink-line-and-watercolor illustrations possess a delicate sweetness reminiscent of James Stevenson's work. But they are marred by the featureless faces of Annie and Anya, which too closely resemble those of their dolls. Ages 5-7. (Aug.)