WAVES, WHEELS AND WINGS: Museums of Transportation

Jackson's mini-tours of Mystic Seaport, the restored steam railroad between Strasburg and Paradise, Penna., the Rhinebeck, New York Aerodrome and Harrah's Automobile Collection in Reno, Nevada may inspire some children to visit (or rather, pester their parents to visit) these unusual ""working"" museums. Still, despite some attempts to capture the relevant ""mystique"" in each case, Jackson's background on whaling, the era of steam locomotion, and on antique cars and planes is too perfunctory to stand on its own. All four tourist attractions seem worthwhile, but unless one of them is located in the immediate neighborhood, librarians will balk at paying $4.95 for what is essentially an expanded promotional flyer.