Heading Out

. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, $16.95 (200pp) ISBN 978-1-58234-787-5

An informative duo gives kids the skinny on the life paths of adults who have met with success. Julia Alvarez, Ken Burns, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and 20 others share their stories in Heading Out: The Start of Some Splendid Careers, ed. by Gloria Kamen. Divided into five sections (Writers; The Arts; Science; Medicine & Invention; Business and Politics; and Sports) and preceded by a brief introduction, each entry illuminates the trajectory of an author's path. Most are excerpted from autobiographies; a few are original to this edition.