(4) K-3 Zoom In on First Ladies series. These starter biographies have fact-driven texts illustrated with uncaptioned photos (or historical art in Washington). The choppy writing is easy to read, but the volumes provide little in the way of substantive background about these First Ladies. Appended lists of quick stats and key dates may be helpful when writing reports. Glos., ind. Review covers these Zoom In on First Ladies titles: Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Bush, Martha Washington, Michelle Obama, and Nancy Reagan.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) 4-6 People to Know Today series. All five of these biographers write about their subjects in glowing terms. With the exception of Frost, the books offer limited, anecdote-heavy information. Many photographs, sidebars, and pull-out quotes support the texts, and their clean design makes the chronologies easy to follow. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. Review covers these People to Know Today titles: Laura Bush, J.K. Rowling, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Frost, and George W. Bush.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 This well-rounded biography traces Laura Bush's journey from shy Texas schoolgirl to first lady of the United States. Her professional accomplishments as a teacher and librarian and her daily life as a wife and mother are related in competent, if occasionally cloying, prose. The volume includes an insert of color photos showing Bush with her family and at public events. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Gateway Biography series. These biographies of major players in the last, contested presidential election present their subjects' lives as a series of activities and accomplishments, highlighting the positives and downplaying any controversies. The result is bland and uninspiring, but the books in this series may be useful for report writers. All have color and black-and-white photos and time lines; Bush contains a bibliography. Ind. [Review covers these Gateway Biography titles: Dick Cheney, Joseph Lieberman, Laura Welch Bush.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam