The Barefoot Book of Pirates

Plumbing the storytelling traditions of diverse cultures, from Japan to Morocco to Persia, both Walker and Matthews come up with treasure for this smashing pair of themed anthologies. While a few tales are standards (e.g., ""The Princess and the Pea,"" ""Sleeping Beauty""), most are not. It will be news to most readers, for example, that Robin Hood once took a seaside holiday (""Robin Hood and the Pirates""), and that the list of famous swashbucklers includes an Irish woman (""Pirate Grace""). Many of the princesses, too, deviate from familiar patterns. The Chinese ""Beggar Princess"" survives an attempted drowning by her new husband, only to rise above him; a picky Iroquois princess atones for a foolish decision through her brave deeds (""The Horned Snake's Wife""). The prose in both volumes is top-notch--richly embellished and seamless. Whelan's effervescent artwork recalls Jane Ray's in composition, color and use of detail and borders. She tailors her delicate watercolors to each story's country of origin. ""The Abbey Bells,"" for instance, a Scottish pirate tale, features plaid ship's sails. Each story is presented against a different background page color, and tiny thumbnail illustrations hover about the page numbers (a pair of violins for ""Music Charms the Pirates""; ankle bracelets and crown for the African ""Princess Who Lost Her Hair""). Superbly executed, these buoyant volumes are must-haves for storytellers and folk- and fairy-tale fans. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)