THE FANTASTIC ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN

Tales of Baron Munchausen have mostly belonged to previous generations, with a few books popping up now and then. This stylish production may find new readers for the legendary tales of this man who was part magician, part entertainer and part scoundrel. A foreword provides the background of the real Munchausen, who was born a German baron in the 18th century, joined the Russian military and returned home to tell these outrageous tall tales about his adventures. Told in the first person, the 11 amusingly preposterous anecdotes include riding a cannonball, traveling to the moon, being given a sack full of sunshine, holding a concert inside a whale and riding a seahorse. Translated from the German, the tales smoothly segue into each other as Blau’s sophisticated, elegant artwork visualizes the settings, antics and Baron, who has a hooked nose, gray mustache and curls and wears a tricorn hat and boots. This is handsomely designed in picture-book format, but the font size and amount of text on each page make it a lengthy read-aloud choice for kids whose imaginations trip the light fantastic. (Fiction. 7-10)