Reviews
A Review of "True Stories, Real People" in Horn Book Guide
True Stories, Real People series. Integrating objective, fact-based narration and primary source quotations, this title communicates the hardships and applauds the fortitude of the Chilean men who were trapped in the San Jose Mine for sixty-nine days. Simple layouts use call-out boxes… View →
A Review of "How America Works" in Children's Bookwatch
‘How Elections Work’ is a succinct guide to the American electoral process in the U.S.A. for young adults and teens. Illuminated with historic black and white and color photos, timelines, and other visual aids, ‘How Elections Work’ covers it’s subject matter in three chapters: Voting Rights… View →
A Review of "Inside Look at Sports Events" in Booklist
Rather than presenting the facts historically or analytically, each volume in the Inside Look at Sports Events series leads off with a two-page informational section in a Q&A format, and then offers five narrative chapters, each from a different point of view. The result is a book that… View →
A Review of "Endangered Animals" in School Library Connection
The focus of these books is on the reasons each animal is endangered and the ways humans can help. Each title describes an animal, its environmental adaptations, and the threats contributing to its decline and conservation. Up-close photographs engage the reader, and life cycle diagrams and… View →
A Review of "Exploring Dinosaurs" in School Library Connection
Dinosaurs are a source of fascination because scientists can only study their fossils to gather information, and they are still uncovering interesting facts. Author Susan Gray, a scientist with a special interest in zoology and paleontology, includes the latest information and answers to… View →
A Review of "Titanic Stories" in Booklist
The Titanic Stories series investigates this maritime disaster from different perspectives, and this volume takes a close look at J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star Line, the company that built the Titanic. Engaging narrative prose describes Ismay’s excitement upon boarding the great… View →
A Review of "The Spark of Invention" in Booklist
In this entry in the Spark of Invention series, kids will learn that the skateboards of today are the product of many people’s efforts over time. Beginning with the crude boards of the 1920s, consisting of little more than a plank with roller skate wheels, the text moves forward to the… View →
A Review of "True Stories, Real People" in Booklist
The central library in Basra, Iraq, served its community for years before war threatened not just to end its services but to destroy its collections. In 2003, chief librarian Baker led an impromptu, grassroots effort to save as much of the collection as she and the library’s neighbors could… View →
A Review of "The Spark of Invention" in School Library Journal
These highlights in the history of modern technology offer light doses of names and dates, along with nontechnical descriptions of significant early tweaks or innovations. The volumes take snowboarding from the time it was called ‘snurfing’ through Shaun White’s legendary run in the 2010… View →
A Review of "Natural Disaster True Survival Stories" in School Library Journal
Following a two-page overview of the title event, each volume presents four or five dramatic accounts of people who experience the effects. Photos of survivors accompany many stories, including those of a small boy pulled from Haiti’s earthquake rubble and a man floating on his house 10… View →
A Review of "Inside Look at Sports Events" in School Library Journal
This immersive series will make students experts at major sporting events in no time. Each volume is prefaced by effectively answering the five W’s (who, what, where, when why) in a ‘Fast Facts’ section. The volumes are slim, but they pack a lot of information. As these titles can… View →
A Review of "Unsolved Mysteries" in Horn Book Guide
4-6 Unsolved Mysteries series. These books offer clear-eyed assessments of persistent unexplained phenomena. An anecdote introduces the titular subject; each survey superficially touches on history and possible explanations— scientific or otherwise. The slight texts are easy to read and… View →