SHH! WE’RE WRITING THE CONSTITUTION by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Tomie dePaola; (Putnam’s: $12.95; 64 pp.). : A CONVENTION OF DELEGATES: THE CREATION OF THE CONSTITUTION by Denis J. Hauptly (Atheneum: $12.95; 148 pp.).

In the summer of 1787, 200 years ago, 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states gathered in Philadelphia. They had come to work out answers to some of the problems faced by the country, not yet a nation. In the next months they emerged with a remarkable document--a Constitution for a completely new system of government based on the idea that the people could run their own government.

These two books cover the same history of those amazing weeks when the new Constitution was forged; both list the delegates and include a copy of the Constitution.

Jean Fritz’s book, with its charming illustrations for the 8- to 12-year-old reader, is the more sprightly in style and simple in presentation. It is full of wonderful anecdotes (Washington had his “Valley Forge look” when the debates reached their lowest point; James Madison stood “no bigger than half a piece of soap”) so that the real people come alive in quick brush-strokes. She tells how the delegates worked during sweltering days, wearing wool suits, pestered by bluebottle flies. She captures the colorful clash of personalities and beliefs, bringing respect and admiration for the document built on what was best for the common good.

Denis J. Hauptly’s book, for the 10- to 14-year-old and older reader, goes into greater detail about the complex decisions made through compromise by the disparate delegates and profiles each of the most significant contributors--James Madison, Ben Franklin, William Paterson and others. To read either book is to gain a sense of awe and respect for those who created a Constitution that Jefferson called “the wisest ever yet presented to man.”