(3) YA Swanson adapts his adult work Bloody Crimes about Abraham Lincoln's funeral and the hunt for Jefferson Davis as the Civil War ended. The narrative uses alternating, parallel story lines to highlight events as the nation (mostly northerners) mourned one man and called for the other's head. Highly informative, with archival photographs and prints enhancing the work. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Tim Robinson. Sheinkin's entertaining histories cover the Revolutionary and Civil wars. George (originally Storyteller's History: The American Revolution) begins with thirteen ways to start a revolution. Miserable opens with thirteen ways to rip a country apart. Each book includes personal, frequently irreverent, accounts of the participants. The layouts invite browsing: bold subheadings, short exposition, numerous pen-and-ink cartoonlike illustrations, and plenty of maps. Bib., ind. Review covers these titles: King George: What Was His Problem? and Two Miserable Presidents.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(3) YA Milestones in American History series. Short, clearly written chapters explore significant events in American history. The curricular-support titles are amply illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs and reproductions and supported with biographical sketches and excerpts from primary documents. There are five other spring 2009 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Milestones in American History titles: The Donner Party, The Oregon Trail, The Pony Express, The Prohibition Era, The Outbreak of Civil War, and The Emancipation Proclamation.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) 4-6 American War Biographies series. Three Revolutionary war heroes (one turned traitor) and three Civil War figures are featured in these generally well-written, though repetitive, biographies. Timelines are featured in each copiously illustrated chapter, and sidebars cover such related topics as prisoners of war and other important persons. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these American War Biographies titles: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and John Paul Jones.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) YA Historical American Biographies series. The lives of six famous figures are profiled in clear prose and illustrated with black-and-white photographs, reproductions, and maps. Information boxes provide diverting sidelights to the well-documented texts, and each volume ends with a chapter reiterating the achievements and historical legacy of the subject. Time lines are included. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta