Swashbuckling pirates sailed the high seas, striking
fear into the hearts of sailors everywhere. Author Philip Steele provides a fine reference
volume filled with anything a youngster might want to know about piracy: daily life, food,
the ships, pirate flags, battles, and, of course, pirate treasure. Pirates
doesn't gloss over the hardships and dangers of the buccaneer life, however. 
In a fascinating
section Steele recounts the executions and deaths of some famous pirates. Finally, the
book includes technical information about sailing, a discussion of fictional pirates, and
biographies of some famous pirates. (ages 8-12, hc, $15.95)
A fine collection of stories from Kingfisher's Story Library series, Ballet
Stories features fifteen stories about all facets of the dance: performing,
auditioning, and rehearsing. A wide range of well-known authors includes Margot Fonteyn,
Cynthia Voigt, Amy Hest, and Noel Streatfield. (ages 9-14, pb, $6.95)
Diane
Stanley has given the tale of Rumplestiltskin a new spin as the miller's daughter chooses
to marry the tiny man who spins straw into gold rather than the greedy king who demands
more and more. The real heroine of the tale is their daughter, who, though captured by the
king's guards, uses her wits to restore prosperity to a land ravaged by the king's
avarice. The grateful king would make her queen, but this modern lass would much prefer to
be named Prime Minister! Rumplestiltskin's
Daughter (ages 5 and up, hc, $15.00)
David Adler's
picture book biographies are perfect for young readers. With Lou Gehrig,
the Luckiest Man, he has chosen a subject both timely and touching. Although
Gehrig was a great baseball player, it was his humility and courage, as well as his
athletic ability that earned the love and respect of the public. Known as the Iron Horse
because of his determination to play despite injuries and illnesses, as a boy he never
missed a day in eight years of grade school. Lou Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games
for the New York Yankees, choosing to remove himself from the lineup when his illness, as
yet undiagnosed, affected his play. An 
exemplary role model
for young baseball enthusiasts, Gehrig remains a shining example for us all. (ages 5-9,
hc, $15.00)
Young baseball player Joe Stoshack lives the dream of every card collector when he
finds a Honus Wagner card amid some attic junk. Joe recognizes the value of this rare
card, but is astounded to find that its discovery conjures up the legendary Honus Wagner
himself, who invites him to travel back in time to the 1909 World Series. As if that
weren't thrilling enough, Joe's 1909 persona looks like Honus's older brother Albert,
enabling him to trade places with Honus and actually bat in the last game of the series.
Author Dan Gutman's well-researched novel Honus and
Me is an intriguing blend of baseball yarn and time travel that will appeal to
baseball fans of all ages. He includes photos and statistics from baseball history as 
well as a
reprint of Honus Wagner's "Baseball Tips for Kids", published in Sporting
News in 1950. (all ages, hc, $14.00)
Kathleen Krull's Lives of
the Athletes will delight readers - those who are sports fans and those who are
not. Her brief accounts of the lives of twenty famous athletes are far more than standard
biographical sketches. Subtitled Thrills, Spills (and What the Neighbors Thought),
we learn mundane (and fascinating) details such as what each liked to eat, and tantalizing
tidbits about their sometimes odd habits. The representation here is broad indeed, from
Johnny Weismuller and Sonja Henie to Jackie Robinson and Pele. Krull states it best in her
introduction: "- mostly admirable, occasionally quirky - offered as a celebration of
physical accomplishment that transports us into a world of thrills and spills." (ages
8-12, hc, $19.00)
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