(4) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. In 1856, John Price and two other Kentucky slaves escape to Ohio, a free state. John and his friend Frank decide to settle in the welcoming town of Oberlin. When John is captured by slave hunters, hundreds of Oberlinians mobilize to rescue the fugitive slave. The story is compelling, but some overgeneralizing is unfortunate. Velasquez's static illustrations quietly extend the story. Reading list, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) YA Documenting the life of Zora Neale Hurston can present a challenge because she often lied about herself in print, beginning with the year of her birth. The Fradins make discrepancies part of the story, using Hurston's autobiographical tall tales to give readers a strong sense of her. Illustrated with carefully selected photographs, this biography is pleasurable as well as informative. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(3) YA In 1841 free black man Solomon Northup is kidnapped, sold into slavery, and shipped to Louisiana. Holding onto his love of music and his family, Northup endures twelve years of heartbreak and abuse. Faithful to his autobiography, the authors present an authentic account of slavery. Maps, archival photographs, and illustrations complement this stirring biography. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) 4-6 A combination of eyewitness stories and excellent, at times chilling, color photographs of tornadoes and the damage they can cause provide a captivating account of recent and historical tornado activity in the United States. The emphasis here is on witnessing the forces of nature and the technology of storm chasing, rather than explaining the underlying science. The accompanying diagrams could be better labeled. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Concentrating on personalities rather than larger political questions, Fradin describes the early years of Burr and Hamilton, what the men had in common, and the beginnings of their animosity. Day's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations beautifully pace the narrative, highlighting the hostility between the two by shifting perspectives throughout. A brief sidebar about the demise of dueling is appended. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(3) 4-6 Witness to Disaster series. This book presents an overview of earthquakes, plate tectonic theory, and the science of earthquake prediction. First-person accounts from those who experienced earthquakes and also from the scientists who study them add immediacy. Impressively dramatic photographs, both contemporary and archival, show the devastation that earthquakes can cause. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Witness to Disaster series. Disquieting quotes from those who have experienced droughts, comments from the scientists who study them, and an array of photographs illustrate numerous examples of recent and historical droughts. Brief scientific explanations about such topics as the water cycle and global warming are included, but the emphasis is on describing droughts and attempts to mitigate their effects. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Witness to Disaster series. Dramatic first-person quotes and an array of impressive photographs bring to readers real-life accounts of recent and historical natural disasters. The emphasis here is on personal reactions--devastation, destruction, and fear (Hurricanes more so than Volcanoes)--although basic explanations of hurricane and volcano mechanics and the science of prediction are also included, supported by quotes from scientists. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Witness to Disaster titles: Hurricanes and Volcanoes.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Witness to Disaster series. Dramatic first-person quotes and an array of impressive photographs bring to readers real-life accounts of recent and historical natural disasters. The emphasis here is on personal reactions--devastation, destruction, and fear (Hurricanes more so than Volcanoes)--although basic explanations of hurricane and volcano mechanics and the science of prediction are also included, supported by quotes from scientists. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Witness to Disaster titles: Hurricanes and Volcanoes.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(2) 4-6 Nobel Peace Prize winner Addams is remembered as a humanitarian, but she was despised as well as internationally admired during her lifetime. Illustrated with many photographs, this carefully documented and well developed account draws from Addams's own writings on the value of human life. The Fradins present a complex woman whose ideas are enduring and timely. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. Breaking down the events of April 18 and 19, 1775, into chronological segments with a date and time heading, this book provides some details about the battles of Lexington and Concord. Attractive mixed-media illustrations capture events, and a who's-who list at the beginning and end of the book helps fill in additional information.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler. This succinct biography discusses the life of Copernicus, the sixteenth-century scholar, cleric, and physician whose greatest interest was astronomy. Fradin clearly explains how Copernicus came to the then-heretical conclusion--later confirmed by Galileo and Isaac Newton--that the earth is a planet that orbits the sun. Von Buhler's oil paintings have a classic quality well suited to the text.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(2) YA In this biography of the civil rights crusader, chapters about Bates's founding, with her husband, of the weekly Arkansas State Press set the stage for the excellent account of their involvement with the 1957 integration of Little Rock's Central High School. The Fradins have a lively style and a smooth way of bringing a large cast of persons to life. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2005

(4) 4-6 Who Was...? series. Illustrated by John O'Brien. Jefferson offers an adequate introduction but occasionally gets bogged down in detail (however, his sexual relationship with Sally Hemings is included as fact). Keller reads more smoothly. Black-and-white drawings and boxed sections on topics such as the Boston Tea Party and Braille expand the biographical information, but the overall presentation is lackluster. Timeline. Bib. [Review covers these Who Was...? titles: Who Was Thomas Jefferson? and Who Was Helen Keller?.]

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(2) 4-6 Born to parents who had been slaves, Terrell spent a lifetime working to "promote the welfare of my race." The Fradins cover her life in mostly straightforward chronological fashion, illustrating the ironic juxtaposition that her privilege as an adult was what enabled her to fight injustice and racial prejudice. Black-and-white photos and archival images of the time period and Jim Crow segregation enhance the book. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2003

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Michael McCurdy. Quietly dignified, with stately black-and-white illustrations, the format of this impressive volume reflects its subject. A brief essay introduces each state, followed by short presentations on the state's delegates, each featuring a cameo-like portrait and an interpretive vignette. A reproduction of the original document and a printed version are included in this thoughtfully conceived and well-executed book. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2003

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by John O'Brien. The fast-paced biographies in this series do a good job of revealing the personalities and significant achievements of their subjects. Plentiful black-and-white illustrations and simple prose make the books particularly appealing to reluctant readers, and the brief sidebars never overwhelm the main texts. Each volume has two timelines--one for the subject's life, the other listing concurrent world events. [Review covers these titles: Who Was Albert Einstein?, Who Was Ben Franklin?, Who Was Sacagawea?, Who Was Annie Oakley?.]

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Val Paul Taylor. The fast-paced biographies in this series do a good job of revealing the personalities and significant achievements of their subjects. Plentiful black-and-white illustrations and simple prose make the books particularly appealing to reluctant readers, and the brief sidebars never overwhelm the main texts. Each volume has two timelines--one for the subject's life, the other listing concurrent world events. [Review covers these titles: Who Was Albert Einstein?, Who Was Ben Franklin?, Who Was Sacagawea?, Who Was Annie Oakley?.]

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Drawing on an 1856 biography and other sources, Fradin tells the story of Peter Still's life in slavery, buying his freedom at age fifty, reuniting with his long-lost mother and siblings in the North, and returning to rescue his wife and children still in the South. Historical images and reproductions show images from slave life. This forms an in-depth companion to Fradin's Bound for Freedom. Bib.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 4-6 Fradin assembles more than a dozen compelling narratives of slaves' flight to freedom, often taken from contemporary first-person accounts. Beginning with the subjects' lives under slavery, the combined narratives present a portrait of pervasive inhumane practices in the South and the network that arose in the North to assist the escaping slaves. The text is illustrated with archival black-and-white photographs and engravings. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2001