(4) 4-6 Graphic Library: True Stories of Survival series. Illustrated by Mack Chater. This series provides brief accounts of life-threatening situations. In both books, each entry consists of a basic setup, the main event, and the immediate aftermath with comic-book-panel illustrations focusing on the raw emotions during the events. The books' graphic-novel format draws out what's basically minimal information. Readers seeking a more in-depth presentation will need to supplement these volumes. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Graphic Library: True Stories of Survival titles: Buried in Rubble and Terrors from the Deep.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) K-3 Unmasking Monsters with Scooby-Doo! series. Illustrated by Scott Neely. In these books, Scooby thinks he sees a legendary creature ("rombie," "rampire," "rerewolf"), and the gang launches into a discussion of monster lore as Shaggy and Scooby try not to freak out. The speech-balloon text superficially covers appearance, behaviors, and weaknesses. The familiar--and not scary--cartoon illustrations and undemanding texts make these adequate introductions for young monster fans. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Unmasking Monsters with Scooby-Doo! titles: Scooby-Doo! And the Truth Behind Zombies, Scooby-Doo! And the Truth Behind Vampires, and Scooby-Doo! And the Truth Behind Werewolves.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(4) K-3 Language on the Loose series. Illustrated by Russ Cox. In Frog, each cleverly named member of a family communicates exclusively through one kind of sentence (e.g., son Exclamuel uses only exclamatory). In Whatever, a boy overcomes a chronic case of monotone expression ("ouch thatll leave a mark") thanks to punctuation. The purposeful stories are silly but memorable vehicles to reinforce sentence types and the purpose for punctuation. Reading list. Review covers these Language on the Loose titles: Whatever Says Mark and Frog. Frog? Frog!.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi

(4) 4-6 Graphic Library: Cartoon Nation series. Illustrated by Kelly Brown. In the noble tradition of Schoolhouse Rock, this series uses cartoons to spice up curriculum-friendly topics, in these cases, the histories and roles of the FBI and the Supreme Court. The writing is strong, but the layouts, full of dialogue balloons and word definitions in font that's difficult to read, are visually assaultive. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Graphic Library: Cartoon Nation titles: The FBI and The U.S. Supreme Court.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Graphic Library: Cartoon Nation series. Illustrated by Brian Bascle. This irreverent volume, heavily illustrated with cartoons, tells the story of the U.S. women's suffrage movement. As usual with this series, the layouts are cluttered. However, the cartoons do a grand job of showing the anti-suffrage position's ridiculousness (a man measuring his wife's head thinks, "Poor thing. Look at the size of her tiny brain!"). Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram