(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ian Schoenherr. Carefully researched and beautifully designed (including well-selected woodcuts and art reproductions), this offering from veteran biographer Fritz introduces Alexander Hamilton. Readers' appreciation of this cradle-to-grave biography would be enhanced through prior knowledge of the man; Hamilton's place in history and value to an emerging nation don't emerge until almost halfway through the book. Explanatory notes are appended. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. Thirteen-year-old colonist Thomas Savage was given to the Indians to learn their language and act as an interpreter. Fritz fills in the gaps of Thomas's (fictionalized) story by detailing the mess that was Jamestown: the politics, egos, and violence. While this gap-filling includes some interesting information, it also interrupts the narrative flow. Comport's illustrations provide visually pleasing breaks in the dense-looking text. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2007

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Hudson Talbott. In 1587, about a hundred men, women, and children left England to colonize Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. When their governor returned from a trip to England for supplies, he found the colony abandoned. Talbott's delicate spot-art portraits give each player in this historical mystery a face, and Fritz attaches distinctive personalities to those images. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2004

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Hudson Talbott. In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci began work on a mammoth bronze horse but never completed it. Half a millennium later, retired pilot Charles Dent dedicated himself to re-creating Leonardo's dream, a venture eventually realized with the help of sculptor Nina Akamu. Fritz's narrative, while engaging, begs several questions, and Talbott's handsome artwork is no more forthcoming than the text.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2001

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Ronald Himler. This lively account of Lafayette's military and political career in America and in France and his lifelong championing of the principles of democracy depicts a man of intelligence, enthusiasm, leadership, and a great capacity for friendship and love. Himler's full-page drawings provide helpful views of the important players and of time and place. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1999