(3) 4-6 Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown series. These lively narratives investigate controversies surrounding who actually developed widely used STEM advances. Each text traces an invention's history, technology, and development by following the contest between two people, each of whom have claimed to be the true inventor. Well-designed with captioned color and black-and-white photographs, paintings, and diagrams, the books should intrigue readers and encourage further research. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown titles: Who Invented the Light Bulb?, Who Invented the Radio?, Who Invented the Telephone?, Who Invented the Airplane?, Who Invented the Movie Camera?, and Who Invented the Television?

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown series. These lively narratives investigate controversies surrounding who actually developed widely used STEM advances. Each text traces an invention's history, technology, and development by following the contest between two people, each of whom have claimed to be the true inventor. Well-designed with captioned color and black-and-white photographs, paintings, and diagrams, the books should intrigue readers and encourage further research. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown titles: Who Invented the Light Bulb?, Who Invented the Radio?, Who Invented the Telephone?, Who Invented the Airplane?, Who Invented the Movie Camera?, and Who Invented the Television?

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown series. These lively narratives investigate controversies surrounding who actually developed widely used STEM advances. Each text traces an invention's history, technology, and development by following the contest between two people, each of whom have claimed to be the true inventor. Well-designed with captioned color and black-and-white photographs, paintings, and diagrams, the books should intrigue readers and encourage further research. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown titles: Who Invented the Light Bulb?, Who Invented the Radio?, Who Invented the Telephone?, Who Invented the Airplane?, Who Invented the Movie Camera?, and Who Invented the Television?

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) YA Essential Literary Genres series. Each volume briefly introduces a genre, then summarizes four or five well-selected books within it, suggests simple critical angles for understanding and interpreting the titles, and gives examples of topics for high-school essay-writing. Brevity rather than depth defines this series. The light-pastel sidebar type was a poor design decision. There are four other spring 2017 books in this series. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Literary Genres titles: Young Adult, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, and Science Fiction.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) K-3 Animal Olympics series. This series imagines how three species would fare in fictional Olympic competitions. After introducing a human Olympian in the featured sport, each book discusses its animal contenders, focusing on agility and other traits that give the animal an edge. A double-page "Award Ceremony" declares who wins gold, silver, and bronze. Gimmicky but informative. There are four other fall 2017 books in this series. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Animal Olympics titles: Animal Boxing Stars, Animal Diving Stars, Animal High Jumping Stars, and Animal Gymnastics Stars.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) 4-6 STEM in the Real World series. In a coherent series installment, the work of astronomers and astrophysicists is described with emphasis on the objects in the universe scientists may study, the technologies they use, and the advanced education needed. Boxes highlighting the field's major thinkers, photographs, and illustrations are included. The series features intermittent, weakly-related comprehension activities, prompts, and links to further material. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(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 Ancient Civilizations series. Each volume introduces a civilization by covering a wide variety of topics including origins, political systems, religions, and daily life. Chapters are broken into subcategories, with numerous sidebars, photos, illustrations, and maps adding detail to the main narrative. The texts themselves are accessible without dumbing down the information. There are four other spring 2015 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. This review covers the following Ancient Civilizations titles: Ancient Maya, Ancient Rome, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient India.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) YA Countries of the World series. This well-written title provides a comprehensive introduction to Australia, its rich history, and present-day constitutional monarchy. The text covers geography, climate, natural resources, population, and culture; color photographs, maps, and sidebars help make the tiny type size less off-putting. Report writers will find useful information. Lists of facts and "Places to Visit" are appended. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) YA Essential Critiques series. These volumes introduce cinematic criticism, provide summaries of the filmmakers' famous works, and offer lightly annotated essays modeling the application of criticism through different approaches. Each book leads readers through key steps of analysis and encourages readers' own critiques. Featuring the work of currently popular directors enlivens these suitable overviews of film interpretation and essay construction. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Critiques titles: How to Analyze the Films of The Coen Brothers and How to Analyze the Films of Clint Eastwood.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) YA Essential Critiques series. From a clear definition of critical theory and its purpose to practical applications, this series presents well-written introductions to the analysis of film. Each volume begins with a biographical sketch of the title director followed by four critical discussions of his work. A "You Critique It" assignment provides additional guidance. The books are worthy resources for thinking critically and developing and defending a thesis. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Critiques titles: How to Analyze the Films of George Lucas, How to Analyze the Films of James Cameron, and How to Analyze the Films of Tim Burton.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) YA Essential Lives series. These series entries, with straightforward writing and frequent sidebars, vary in quality. Hitler contains some startling generalizations (e.g., "European citizens were becoming indifferent to the plight of the Jews"); Guevara includes two stills from The Motorcycle Diaries, despite plenty of other available images. Rockefeller is bland but generally informative, and Dandridge's rather sensational life experiences are handled in a refreshingly matter-of-fact way. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Lives titles: Che Guevara, John D. Rockefeller, Dorothy Dandridge, and Adolf Hitler.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) YA Technology Pioneers series. Each book begins with an overview of the title company's main product, then backtracks to provide a well-narrated history of its conception and development. Key figures (e.g., Craig Newmark of Craigslist, Pierre Omidyar of eBay) are profiled in a way that makes clear their creativity, entrepreneurship, and inextricable links to their respective organizations. Useful photographs are included. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Technology Pioneers titles: Nintendo, Craigslist, eBay, and Google.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) YA Inside the Industry series. Each book describes four careers; for example, Arts covers artist, dancer, photographer, and curator. Readers learn what each job entails (e.g., "What Is an Artist?") and what they can do to prepare for these competitive professions ("Would You Make a Good Artist?"). The bland texts, accompanied by young-person-heavy stock photos, could be useful as very general introductions to the title careers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Inside the Industry titles: The Arts, Engineering, Fashion, and Entertainment.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) YA Essential Events series. This book documents one of the bleakest economic periods of twentieth-century American history, from Roosevelt's election to the beginning of World War II. Numerous government programs designed to ease effects of the Great Depression are discussed. The readable narrative presents both successes and failures. Sidebars and photographs enhance the text but crowd the pages. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Military Heroes series. Filled with photographs and archival illustrations, this series presents a range of famous and lesser-known people involved in U.S. military history. In addition to standard biographical details, the texts also examine controversies and career flops as well as successes; sidebars provide historical context. Though the writing is on the bland side, the texts are useful for reports. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Military Heroes titles: Samuel Houston, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., George S. Patton, Clara Barton, John McCain, and Colin Powell.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee