AUNT ELAINE DOES THE DANCE FROM SPAIN

``Aunt Elaine/thinks she's from Spain,/but she and Dad were born in Maine,'' confides Elaine's slightly nerdy-looking niece, Katy; as ``Elena,'' her aunt is enthusiastic about performing Spanish dances with what looks like a multicultural troupe. In spritely verse, Katy describes going along one evening to watch. She never finds her way from backstage out into the audience, but by the time the show is over she has explored the costumes and arrayed herself in borrowed finery, and her aunt invites her to join in the encore. The story is slight but pleasantly frothy; Mathers, widely praised for her sophisticated colors and clean, imaginative design, breaks no new ground here but nicely captures the lighthearted spirit in her vibrant, delicately witty art. (Picture book. 4-8)