(2) K-3 In this follow-up to Let It Begin Here!, stylized watercolors heighten the drama and occasional humor of Henry Knox's mission to bring heavy cannon from Lake Champlain forts to Washington's forces in 1776 Boston. The text hews closely to the record--except for one fact: Brown states, "Washington ached for cannon...But Washington had none," an unfortunate exaggeration of an otherwise "true story." Bib.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(2) YA In 1946, the producers of the Superman radio show deployed their character's popularity in a campaign against bigotry. Bowers explains how he dug through myths, examined original archives, and reached tentative conclusions about what most likely happened and why. A complex history of organizations guided by both ideology and profit, people both well-meaning and flawed, and shifts in popular sentiment. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2012

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Peter Malone. With clear prose and an eye for telling detail, Freedman narrates the 1773 destruction of British tea in Boston Harbor. Quoting heavily from the firsthand accounts from younger participants, Freedman provides a young person's view of the protest (which is somewhat limited in showing the larger context). Malone's crowd-filled watercolors in a tea-brown palette establish the setting nicely. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Larry Day. This frothy follow-up to George Did It shrinks the title statesmen's rivalry into a personality clash, removing much of the politics from a political story; for all its focus on conflict, the book avoids difficult topics. Day's watercolors are lively caricatures with some fine effects, such as a spread of the Continental Congress crowding around Jefferson as he writes the Declaration of Independence.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. This picture book biography provides information about Knox's early life, then recounts how in 1776 he managed the transport of fifty-nine heavy artillery pieces from Lake Champlain to the siege lines outside Boston. The basic story, handsomely pictured in Minor's style of weathered Americana, is historically sound, but the text contains some inaccuracies and details unsupported by contemporaneous documents. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell

(2) K-3 Actual Times series. Brown creates an exciting, well-grounded narrative of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. His text moves swiftly among historical background, major actions, and quick profiles and anecdotes. Loosely drafted watercolors similarly shift between wide views of the opposing troops and images of individuals. This is a vivid account of a busy and important day. Bib.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Krull's narrative follows Baum's career changes before his bestselling novel was published in 1900. Illustrations include visual prefigurations as Baum bicycles past poppies and watches Midwesterners fight a stiff wind; Hawkes decorates text pages with line art patterned after W. W. Denslow. In all, an entertaining look at how a peripatetic man in a rapidly changing society produced a lasting fantasy tale. Bib.

Reviewer: J.L. Bell | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2008