(4) YA Write This Way series. Each step-by-step, form-specific guide for middle school students maps the process of selecting a topic, gathering information, organizing ideas, drafting, and revising. Interspersed writing exercises and tips from well-known authors encourage new writers to discover what approaches work best for them. Unfortunately, a text-heavy layout may discourage leisurely browsing. Writing career advice is appended. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Write This Way titles: Writing Fantastic Fiction, Writing Outstanding Opinion Pieces, Writing Powerful Persuasive Pieces, Writing Intriguing Informational Pieces, and Writing Notable Narrative Nonfiction Pieces.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) YA Write This Way series. Each step-by-step, form-specific guide for middle school students maps the process of selecting a topic, gathering information, organizing ideas, drafting, and revising. Interspersed writing exercises and tips from well-known authors encourage new writers to discover what approaches work best for them. Unfortunately, a text-heavy layout may discourage leisurely browsing. Writing career advice is appended. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Write This Way titles: Writing Fantastic Fiction, Writing Outstanding Opinion Pieces, Writing Powerful Persuasive Pieces, Writing Intriguing Informational Pieces, and Writing Notable Narrative Nonfiction Pieces.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) YA Landmark Supreme Court Cases series. These books chronicle events leading to and results stemming from selected Supreme Court decisions. Basic information includes key individuals as well as specifics related to the cases, the court challenges, and the final decisions. Photographs, archival images, and maps are included. Numerous sidebars extend and clarify the readable texts. Reading list, timeline. Bib. glos., ind. Review covers these Landmark Supreme Court Cases titles: Miranda v. Arizona, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Korematsu v. The United States, and Bush v. Gore.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Exploring World Governments series. While describing the ideas, histories, policies, and economics behind the title political ideologies, these overviews vary widely in their assessments. Democracy focuses mainly on its strengths; Communism and Dictatorships emphasize their political unfairness and the human misery they have caused; and Anarchism concentrates on the impact of its ideas on other ideologies. Photographs and sidebars break up the texts. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Exploring World Governments titles: Anarchism, Dictatorships, Communism, and Democracy.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) YA Exploring World Governments series. While describing the ideas, histories, policies, and economics behind the title political ideologies, these overviews vary widely in their assessments. Democracy focuses mainly on its strengths; Communism and Dictatorships emphasize their political unfairness and the human misery they have caused; and Anarchism concentrates on the impact of its ideas on other ideologies. Photographs and sidebars break up the texts. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Exploring World Governments titles: Anarchism, Dictatorships, Communism, and Democracy.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(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 Essential Critiques series. From a clear definition of critical theory and its purpose to practical applications, this series is a worthy introduction to film analysis, critical thinking, and thesis development. Each volume begins with the biographical sketch of the title artist followed by discussion of his work through four different critical lenses (e.g., feminism, historical criticism). "You Critique It" assignments provide additional guidance. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Critiques titles: How to Analyze the Films of Quentin Tarantino, How to Analyze the Films of Spike Lee, and How to Analyze the Roles of Paul Newman.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) YA Essential Lives series. Nicely laid-out and easy to read, these informative, if bland, biographies provide historical context as well as personal information about their subjects. Many sidebars, pull-quotes, and photographs enhance the presentation. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Lives titles: Rachel Carson, Frederick Douglass, Cesar Chavez, and Henry Ford.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) YA Essential Events series. This book chronicles the history of the Cherokee Nation from its first contact with Europeans to the present day. Vander Hook sensitively and honestly addresses the broken treaties, ensuing federal lawsuits, and forced relocation of the Cherokee from their homeland to Oklahoma. Numerous archival illustrations and sidebars (which are useful but tend to encroach on the main text) enhance the readable narrative. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Essential Events series. This volume takes readers from the earliest notion of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the finished project in 1914. The readable narrative is accompanied by archival illustrations and numerous sidebars, which are useful but encroach on the main text. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Essential Events series. These volumes examine background, primary players, and lasting impact of historic events. The Munich tragedy and the Hindenburg disaster, two unexpected and shocking occurrences, are graphically but sensitively described. The readable narratives are accompanied by numerous sidebars, archival photographs, and illustrations that, while useful, tend to encroach on the main texts. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Events titles: Terror at the Munich Olympics, The Hindenburg Disaster, and The United States Enters World War I.

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

(4) YA Publishing Pioneers series. Stretching across the centuries, from the first printed volumes (1400s) to today's realm of bookselling in cyberspace, these biographies portray the lives of achievers who have shaped the world of books. The writing is bland but accessible; students will come away with an appreciation of the far-reaching social impact of each individual's innovations. Sidebars, period illustrations, photographs, and maps augment the texts. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Publishing Pioneers titles: Barnes & Noble, Jeff Bezos, Randolph Caldecott, Melvil Dewey, and Johannes Gutenberg.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Essential Events series. This book chronicles hardships in the American Southwest during the Great Depression. The collapse of the financial markets, the severe drought and devastating dust storms, the subsequent crop failures, and the influx of hordes of families to California and Oregon are reported in straightforward text. Sidebars and numerous archival photographs enhance the narrative, though the design is crowded. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Essential Events series. Vander Hook recounts the story of the ill-fated Titanic, including its construction, famous passengers aboard, and events following the loss of the ship. The writing is straightforward; occasional accounts told by survivors give readers a sense of the terror of that fateful night. Archival photographs and drawings are included. Numerous sidebars add interest, though the design is crowded. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg