(4) 4-6 Great Explorations series. Six explorers--including three Spanish conquistadors--are profiled alongside the lands and peoples they discovered and subjugated. Written in a colloquial style, several of the titles skate over the effects the Europeans' conquests had on the native populations, but for the most part these books are thorough. All six titles contain good-quality reproductions. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Explorations titles: Vasco da Gama, Zebulon Pike, Samuel de Champlain, Francisco Pizarro, Juan Ponce de León, and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Francis Back. The seventeenth-century mapmaker, explorer, and founder of Quebec is profiled in a somewhat sketchy text almost overwhelmed by information boxes that provide intriguing supplemental information about Champlain's era but divert attention from the man himself. Color illustrations, historical reproductions, and an inviting design lend appeal, but readers may wish for a more detailed portrait. Reading list. Ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Explorers and Exploration series. Illustrated by Patrick O'Brien. These simplified accounts of European explorers are told from a European perspective, though the native peoples they encountered and sometimes conquered are accurately depicted. The texts are generally choppy, but report writers will find them informative. Each book has a clear map, reprints of old color pictures, some new illustrations, a list of key events in the explorer's century, and a time line of important events in his life. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian