KIDS' BOOKS

Hot off the presses: 'Fire'

The heroine of Kristin Cashore's second novel, Fire, is named for the color of her hair -- a prismatic red that mixes shades of ''sunrise, copper, poppy, fuchsia, and flame'' into a mane so dazzling she keeps it covered with a scarf to deflect attention.

HIALEAH

Hialeah officials write, publish children's book

Hialeah's mayor and a city councilwoman recently unveiled a children's book.

KIDS' READING

Celebs show their inner child in new books

Michael Phelps channels dinosaurs in a world absent of scandal over bongs. Julianne Moore relives her red-haired childhood in a standoff with a school bully. Both are among the celebrities keeping up production in the boldface-name factory that churns out children's books.

Olympians' final chapter could be a myth

Pity the poor fan of Rick Riordan's popular series for adults about Tres Navarre, a Texas private eye with a Ph.D. in medieval literature and an enchilada-eating cat. Beginning with the first book, Big Red Tequila, in 1997, readers could reliably count on a new mystery almost every year.

KIDS BOOKS

The hero's tall, dark and toothsome

Editor's note: This story was originally published Sept. 8, 2007.