(3) K-3 Pebble Plus: Presidential Biographies series. Illustrated with large, clear photographs, these first biographies are inviting and very easy to read. The large-size texts provide a few basic facts about each man and his presidency, giving new readers a broad picture of the subjects. With a table of contents, glossary, and index, these bare-bones primers are good introductions to nonfiction. Reading list, timeline. Review covers these Pebble Plus: Presidential Biographies titles: Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) YA With casual yet informed narrative voices, these biographies offer insight into three well-known public figures, providing multifaceted understandings and allowing readers to form their own opinions. Marshall and Reagan delve into the men's early lives, while Gates focuses largely on the computer tycoon's adult years. All volumes include source notes. Marshall and Gates have websites; Marshall includes a reading list. Bib., ind. Review covers these titles: Bill Gates, Thurgood Marshall, and Ronald Reagan.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(4) 4-6 Who Was...? series. Illustrated by Elizabeth Wolf. Once past the unflattering cover caricatures, these informative biographies provide useful details on each subject's life, family, and career. The lack of divisions within chapters makes the books a little less accessible, although black-and-white drawings and occasional spreads on related topics help break up the text. Timeline. Bib. Review covers these Who Was...? titles: Who Was John F. Kennedy?, Who Was Louis Armstrong?, and Who Was Ronald Reagan?.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) YA Presidential Leaders series. These generally informative biographies of six American presidents are marred by some misleading information and jarring transitions. Black-and-white captioned photographs of the subjects and sidebars on relevant people and events extend the text. Report writers will find the basic facts here but will need to look elsewhere for more comprehensive coverage. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Presidential Leaders titles: John Adams, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Presidents series. Each featured president's life, prior career, and presidency receive a surface treatment in so brief and simplified a manner that it sometimes causes confusion. Website summaries and an online portal encourage readers to surf the Net for more information. Photos, screen shots, and other visual documents illustrate the books. There are four other spring 2003 books in this series. Reading list. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Presidents titles: Ronald Reagan, Woodrow Wilson, and James Buchanan.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Great American Presidents series. These serviceable biographies of three popular American presidents are insufficiently detailed about their subjects as individuals or about their policies (e.g., Lincoln focuses primarily on the Civil War rather than on his role in it). All three books are illustrated with reproductions, and the texts are broken up with boxed quotes from various speeches given by the subjects. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Great American Presidents titles: Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) YA World History series. Four eras in American history are surveyed in well-focused but somewhat dry texts. A lackluster design and dreary black-and-white photos and historical reproductions give the series an unappealing textbook-like quality; however, primary sources, including letters, speeches and legal documents, are presented as boxed sidebars and add to the effectiveness of the volumes. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 United States Presidents series. Each of these mini-biographies opens with a general introduction to its subject; the following chapters (most of which are two pages) skim the surface of childhoods, achievements before and after being elected, and post-presidential work. Historical photographs and illustrations (one per spread), vital statistics, time lines, and "Fun Facts" are included in all the books. Report writers will glean the facts, but not much more. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne