(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: You Should Meet series. Illustrated by Alyssa Petersen. Emerging readers meet Broadway phenomenon Lin-Manuel Miranda in this accessible level-three easy reader. Accompanied by straightforward cartoon illustrations, chapters explore the role of influences such as hip-hop and Latino culture in Miranda's work while also emphasizing the support of his friends and family and his own hard work. Back matter includes facts about Puerto Rico and Broadway and a screenwriting activity.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Secrets of American History series. Illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. The lively easy-reader series about American history continues to offer beginning readers entertaining and lesser-known facts surrounding popular topics. This edition covers monuments and landmarks, in particular the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, FDR's secret train station under the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and Mount Rushmore. Fabbretti's amusing illustrations add an extra level of kid-friendly interest. Facts and a quiz are appended.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Secrets of American History series. Illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. The lively easy-reader series about American history continues to offer beginning readers entertaining and lesser-known facts surrounding popular topics. This edition features stories about the Space Race; secret satellites; and early research about living in space and the effect of gravity on human bodies. Fabbretti's amusing cartoonlike illustrations add an extra level of kid-friendly interest. Facts and a quiz are appended.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Secrets of American History series. Illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. This dip into history, accompanied by full-color cartoonlike illustrations, provides an engaging beginning-reader overview of World War II's lesser-known intrigues. After introducing the war, the focus shifts to the creation of shark repellent, using ghost armies, and a biographical sketch of American spy Virginia Hall. Additional details about sharks, measuring areas, and spies are appended, along with a quiz.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: You Should Meet series. Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Calkhoven introduces "the father of surfing" in this easy-reader biography. She focuses on Kahanamoku's unique swimming and surfing abilities, and his success in four Olympics in the early 1900s. The appealing design features a large font and Lewis's engaging cartoonlike illustrations. The book concludes with a mini Hawaiian glossary and short history and culture sections.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(3) 4-6 Boys of Wartime series. Twelve-year-old Michael is determined to do something to prove his worth after his brother is taken prisoner by the Nazis and his father goes missing. Michael joins the French resistance, risking his life to fight for what he believes in. His experiences teach him about the complexities and horrors of war in this accessible and informative book. A historical note is appended. Reading list, timeline. Glos.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) 4-6 Boys of Wartime series. Will Edmonds dreams of being a soldier like his brother. However, he remains home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, too young at twelve to join the Union Army. To his surprise, Will finds himself amidst one of the fiercest battles of the Civil War. Throughout Calkhoven's accessible and exciting text, Will learns about the complexities and horrors of war. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(3) 4-6 Boys of Wartime series. While his father fights for the Patriots, Daniel and his mother care for the British officers lodging in his family's tavern. Daniel's loyalties are with his father, and he must be braver than the typical twelve-year-old to protect his family and survive alongside British soldiers and Loyalists. Mystery, espionage, and treachery fuel this tale about the onset of the American Revolution. Reading list, timeline. Glos.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(4) 4-6 Sterling Biographies series. Attractive layouts and well-chosen images including photographs, paintings, documents (e.g., the police report on Rosa Parks's arrest), etc. make for accessible, if adulatory, biographies of six noteworthy African Americans. Sidebars flesh out historical contexts and important contemporaries. Malcolm X is the most riveting, both because of the subject's criminal past and his controversial beliefs. Across the volumes, quotations aren't cited. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Sterling Biographies titles: Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Marian Anderson, and Frederick Douglass.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 Sterling Biographies series. Quick-paced chapters and well-chosen images of photos, paintings, documents, etc. (watch for Lincoln's business card), make for engaging, if mostly laudatory, biographies. Sidebars flesh out the historical contexts but, throughout, quotes aren't cited. Eleanor is the most compelling: readers get a real sense of this author/activist/First Lady's strong-willed personality. Kennedy and Franklin omit their alleged affairs, but Jefferson discusses Sally Hemings. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Sterling Biographies titles: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger