(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. This book recounts the highs (performing for soldiers overseas) and lows (dealing with Jim Crow laws in the South) for the Sweethearts, an all-female jazz band started in 1939 at a school for African American orphans in Mississippi. Lively paintings highlight the band members' resilience. Pair this with Marilyn Nelson's Sweethearts of Rhythm for a slightly older audience. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elbrite Brown. This detailed, carefully researched, clearly written account tells of Gibson's journey from poor sharecroppers' daughter to tennis champion: it's a straightforward, solid biography. As a picture book it's uneven. Blocks of text often feel crowded despite an expansive page layout. The brightly colored cut-paper collage art is sometimes effective, sometimes cluttered, and sometimes so minimal as to lack a focal point. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano