(4) 4-6 Newsmakers series. This accessibly written series is notable for its clean layout, including color photographs, sidebars, and charts. The mostly complimentary narratives are solid overviews of their subjects' early lives, successes, and failures. A "Stop and Think" feature offers discussion questions that can be used for assignments. For the living subjects, the content will soon become outdated. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Newsmakers titles: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Vladimir Putin, Malala Yousafzai, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Nelson Mandela, and Pope Francis.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 Newsmakers series. This accessibly written series is notable for its clean layout, including color photographs, sidebars, and charts. The mostly complimentary narratives are solid overviews of their subjects' early lives, successes, and failures. A "Stop and Think" feature offers discussion questions that can be used for assignments. For the living subjects, the content will soon become outdated. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Newsmakers titles: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Vladimir Putin, Malala Yousafzai, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Nelson Mandela, and Pope Francis.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 4-6 Foundations of Our Nation series. These books briefly outline sequential events that led the Colonies to seek independence from Great Britain. Following a basic format, each volume describes the historic occurrence and the principal characters involved; the inclusion of primary source material is valuable. Sidebars, drawings, maps, and photographs add to the readable texts. "Stop and think" questions invite student input. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Foundations of Our Nation titles: The French and Indian War, The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, and The Declaration of Independence.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Authors Teens Love series. These biographies tell about the lives and works of popular authors. Most of the texts are bland and sometimes repetitive, but fans are occasionally rewarded with interesting tidbits (for example, in I Am the Cheese, Amy Hertz's phone number was actually the phone number of author Cormier). Some photographs and pull-quotes help break up the pages. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Authors Teens Love titles: Lois Lowry, Robert Cormier, Richard Peck, S. E. Hinton, and Gary Paulsen.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(4) YA African-American Leaders series. These biographies of contemporary African-American leaders in politics, social reform, and education focus less on their subjects' lives and more on aspects of social history relevant to the time period. Average-quality photographs illustrate the texts. Only Rice is referred to by her first name throughout the text. Timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these African-American Leaders titles: Condoleezza Rice; Carol Moseley-Braun; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; and Benjamin Hooks.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) 4-6 Great Disasters: Reforms and Ramifications series. These series books capably examine two of Texas's tragic legacies: the 1900 hurricane that became the twentieth century's deadliest natural disaster and the 1993 firefight that felled the Branch Davidians. The authors discuss the consequences of these events, including, in Waco's case, an increased number of anti-government militia organizations. Poorly reproduced black-and-white photos augment the texts. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Great Disasters titles: The Galveston Hurricane and The Waco Siege.]

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 United We Stand series. Despite some overlapping of information, each volume in this series primarily focuses on a different aspect of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Some of the books, especially those concerning firefighters and EMTs, are padded with extraneous information. Though the writing is flat and the accompanying color photos are just average in quality, these books will still be helpful for those who want to know more about the events. Bib., ind. [Review covers these United We Stand titles: First to Arrive, Helping Hands, Guardians of Safety, Keeping the Peace, Call to Rescue, and We the People.]

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta