THE HEROINE OF THE TITANIC

Only the title suggests where the climax occurs in this fictionalization of an obscure (if colorful) life with many unknowns: the dated incidents and vignettes in Blos's account are like beads on a string, well polished but all the same size. Mrs. J. J. Brown (``The Unsinkable Molly'') won fame as a Titanic passenger who was responsible for saving many lives. Part of her earlier life was spent in Colorado, where stories about her are available and her house can still be seen; Blos confides that this book is not so much about her life as it really was but ``As She Might Have Liked It Known.'' It would have been nice if Blos had stated more clearly what was documented, what she invented, and what may have been Molly's own hyperbole. Still, an interesting smattering of social history, appealingly added to by the many details of Dixon's lively watercolors. (Biography/Picture book. 6-10)