Five picture books worth a living; The Adventures of Madalene and Louisa, by L. and M. S. Pasley. New York: Random House. $7.95

What did teen-age girls do for amusement in Victorian times? Two of them, Madalene and Louisa, collected insects and wrote droll stories about their efforts to escape their studies so that they might "entomologize." Governesses, never pleased by their interests, did not stay long.

In desperation their father put their older sister in charge of his difficult daughters, but unfortunately, Georgia had "been sent away to a school where she was made to drink quantities of calomel which had made her sour." Worst of all, she disapproved of entomology. Our captivating heroines still manage to have plenty of adventures, which they record and illustrate with wittily imaginative drawings. More entomologizing

One hundred and twenty years later, their descendant, Tim Jeal, has published the truly amazing album kept by his great, great aunts during their girlhood.

All ages will find this a really amusing book, but I would guess it is aimed at 4 to 10- year-olds.