(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. This unique nonfiction picture book tells the story of the Apollo missions in poignant verse, accompanied by pastel, colored-pencil, and airbrush illustrations. Beginning with President Kennedy's 1961 challenge to land on the moon and ending with the success of Apollo 11 in 1969, the result is immersive and both factually and emotionally powerful. Inserts with photographs and facts about the missions appear throughout; additional contextual information is appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. Commemorating the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and honoring lives lost in the World Trade Center, this book relates the inspiring story of a huge beam taken from the rubble; moved to a shipyard in Louisiana, it's skillfully re-crafted into the bow of the newly constructed USS New York. Somber, dramatic full-spread artwork chronicles the beam's journey to its new position of honor.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. One rainy March night, a girl and her mother and grandmother, donning slickers and rain boots, head to a busy city street to see something special: the yearly migration of toads in Philadelphia's Roxborough neighborhood to a reservoir to mate and lay eggs. Glistening, photorealistic mixed-media illustrations set the perfect milieu for this unique annual urban phenomenon. An author's note lends additional context.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. In 1930 Mohandas Gandhi led a twenty-four-day march to protest British laws prohibiting Indians from harvesting or selling salt. McGinty captures the power of the event in rich, celebratory prose. Mixed-media illustrations, full of sweeping horizons, beatific faces, and dramatic light, enhance the reverent tone. Together, text and imagery establish a conspicuous glorification at odds with Gandhi’s humility. Appended with scrupulous source notes.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. After the narrator and her mother move into a filthy, ramshackle house, the girl appeals to fellow church members for support. This is fertile storytelling ground, but help arrives (whether because mother and daughter looked "through eyes of faith" or because people are generally kind) implausibly quickly. Gonzalez has a talent for capturing human expressions and proportions.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. This illustrated biography in verse details the life of Ms. Sotomayor from her childhood in New York City to her rise to Supreme Court Justice. The text, punctuated by the occasional Spanish word, can be ponderous or choppy, though it does do a good job of scene-setting. Mixed-media illustrations breathe life into the story. Concurrently published in Spanish. Timeline. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. This illustrated biography in verse details the life of Ms. Sotomayor from her childhood in New York City to her rise to Supreme Court Justice. Though the text does a good job of depicting setting, it can be ponderous or choppy (however, it does flow better than the concurrently published English-language version). Mixed-media illustrations breathe life into the story. Timeline. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Thomas González. With Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah. 14 Cows for America recounts the true story of Maasai villagers who made a gift of livestock, representing life, to the United States after the September 11th tragedy. This Spanish translation, accompanied by González's lovely color-saturated mixed-media illustrations, very ably renders the moving tale.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. With Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah. In 2002, college student Naiyomah returned home (a Masai village in Kenya) to tell the story of September 11, 2001. He then helped present fourteen cows to the U.S.: "Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort." The tale is poignantly related through understated, powerful prose and color-saturated illustrations.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian