(3) YA Tech Titans series. With clean design that reflects the companies they profile, these straightforward, well-organized introductions to technology innovators present the histories, impacts, key players, and controversies. With a focus on narrative and readability, each book compellingly begins with an anecdote about the founders or recent events to demonstrate the company's powerful influence. Sidebars and lots of captioned photographs help break up the texts. There are four other spring 2019 books in this series. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Tech Titans titles: Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) YA Hip-Hop Insider series. These standalone series titles, ideal for student research, place facets of hip-hop culture in historical, political, and cultural context. The clean layouts employ a large font, wide margins, plentiful color photos, and informative sidebars. The series celebrates hip-hop as the voice of urban and marginalized populations while also objectively addressing concerns including commercialization and explicit lyrics. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Hip-Hop Insider titles: Hip-Hop Culture, The Men of Hip-Hop, The Women of Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop Music, and Hip-Hop Groups.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) YA Hip-Hop Insider series. These standalone series titles, ideal for student research, place facets of hip-hop culture in historical, political, and cultural context. The clean layouts employ a large font, wide margins, plentiful color photos, and informative sidebars. The series celebrates hip-hop as the voice of urban and marginalized populations while also objectively addressing concerns including commercialization and explicit lyrics. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Hip-Hop Insider titles: Hip-Hop Culture, The Men of Hip-Hop, The Women of Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop Music, and Hip-Hop Groups.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) YA Essential Library of the Civil War series. This series covers a broad spectrum of the American Civil War. Causes and Aftermath present overviews of the events leading up to and following the conflict; the other volumes zero in on the roles various groups played during the period. Each thorough book contains an abundance of archival photographs, maps, and related inserts. There are five other fall 2016 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers the following Essential Library of the Civil War titles: Civil War Causes, African Americans in the Civil War, Women in the Civil War, Civil War Leaders, and Civil War Aftermath and Reconstruction.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA Essential Library of American Wars series. These volumes present condensed accounts of two major conflicts of early American history. Both books enumerate causes leading to the wars, key players, important dates, and principal battle locations; decisive battles and their outcomes are covered briefly. Maps, archival drawings and photographs, and numerous inserts extend and enhance the informative texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Library of American Wars titles: Civil War and Revolutionary War.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg