(4) 4-6 Flashback Four series. In their third adventure, the four preteens time-travel to Pompeii in 79 AD to photograph the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Sent via a sophisticated time machine developed by billionaire Miss Z, they mistakenly become slave laborers and gladiators. Tension increases with the need to leave Pompeii before the calamity. The fast-paced novel, which includes photographs from the ruins, is predictable but accessible and appealing.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Flashback Four series. Again transported via mysterious billionaire Miss Z's sophisticated time machine, this time to 1912, four Boston twelve-year-olds are tasked with photographing the Titanic moments before the tragedy. They encounter a series of mishaps culminating with a failure to return to the present in the installment's abrupt cliffhanger ending. The fast-paced and easy-to-read narrative includes photographs of several real-life passengers.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Flashback Four series. Four preteens are selected by an enterprising billionaire to travel backward in time to photograph Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address. Sent via a sophisticated time machine to 1863, they encounter a series of misadventures and return without the photo. The fast-paced, easy read includes archival photographs. However, imprecise interweaving of historical fact and fiction gives the reader a skewed account of the event. Author's note.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg