The Big Book of Pirates

First published in Spain, this collection features abridged stories by Joseph Conrad, Howard Pyle, Daniel Defoe, and others. Vivid descriptions should capture readers' interest: "Captain Sharkey looked like a corpse. He was thin and balding with filmy blue eyes reddened by hate and sea salt," writes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Blighting of Sharkey. Tom%C3%A1s matches the grisly, mysterious, and sometimes humorous tone of the stories with gestural pirate caricatures in an appealing inky, graphic-novel style. Selections with supernatural leanings (for example, The Frozen Pirate by W. Clark Russell) and high-action descriptions should especially engage reluctant readers. Ages 9%E2%80%9312. (June)