RECKLESS RUBY

Ruby glows like a jewel; her mother calls her ""precious"" and hopes ""she'll grow up and marry a prince who'll wrap her in cotton and only bring her out for glittering banquets."" On the advice of friend Harvey, Ruby spends the book in progressively more reckless acts calculated to win her a new image; she gets injured a lot, but finally gets her wish--plus Harvey's admiration. But Ruby's not interested in his proposal: she's planning to be a firefighter when she grows up. The stereotype-bashing is heavy-handed, but the perky text and wickedly zany illustrations are witty enough to retrieve the story.