THE WONDERFUL TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHHAUSEN

A stylish oversize edition of the Baron's adventures in Russia, including the Turkish Campaign that culminated in his temporary employment as the Sultan's beekeeper and slave. MÅnchhausen's offhand modesty comes through clearly in the moderately ornamented prose, though some of his more bizarre hunting exploits may strain credulity (not to mention turn stomachs). Schroeder provides an amused take on the narrative: her elfin, mustachioed Baron gallops confidently through a dreamlike landscape strewn with ominous shadows and sinuous wild creatures; earthier details are portrayed with delicate exactitude. The invitingly spacious layout and comfortably brief blocks of text may draw less able readers; those wishing to sample MÅnchhausen's maritime travels can turn to the picture- book versions of Adrian Mitchell, e.g., The Baron on the Island of Cheese (1986). Nickl closes with a chronology and a discussion of the 18th-century writers who set down the Baron's reminiscences. The publication date is whimsically appropriate. (Picture book. 9-12)