Editorial Review

This entry in the well-written ‘Our Presidents’ series details the early years in Nebraska and Michigan, the rise of Gerald Ford to political life and the accomplishments of his presidency, assumed after Richard Nixon left office. A variety of photographs reveal the early years, military career, his emerging political activity and some of the causes he worked for. Sidebars include interesting facts and the picture captions are informative and lengthy enough to inform casual browsers. A two-page biography of Betty Ford and her struggle with health problems ends the volume. Each book in the series ends with a glossary defining highlighted words in the text, a timeline specific to the president’s life, a complete table of presidents through George W. Bush with their home states, life spans, presidential spans, political party and the name of their first ladies. Included are a page of ‘Presidential Facts’ and numerous web sites and relevant suggested other resources, as well as an index. All in all, it’s a strong, informative and very readable contribution to the literature about presidents for upper elementary and middle-school readers.