Story of tulips; The First Tulips in Holland, by Phyllis Krasilovsky. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co. 32 pp. $12.95.

This large-size picture book offers children a glimpse into late 17th-century life in Holland.

Phyllis Krasilovsky's fictionalized account of how tulips came to Holland opens in Turkey, where a Dutch merchant, Hendrik, buys some tulip bulbs to take home to his daughter, Katrina. His daughter plants the precious bulbs in a bowl, and the exotic flowers cause quite a stir among the townspeople and spark a romance for Katrina.

The illustrations feature the authentic dress, furniture, and architecture of the period and are rich in details to catch a child's eye: a jumble of Turkish minarets and pointed arches; the clean, orderly brick buildings and stepped gables of Holland; gentlemen with ruffled collars, tasseled knee breeches, and plumed hats; ladies wearing quaint caps, and full-blown, brightly colored drawings of the tulips themselves.