(4) 4-6 Genius Inventors and Their Great Ideas series. This series offers biographical sketches plus information about groundbreaking inventions and innovations in various disciplines. Each inventor is depicted as having genius along with curiosity, patience, dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance. "Real fact" inserts and archival photographs accompany the readable texts; the design suffers from garish graphics and borders. Generic suggestions to encourage young inventors are appended. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Genius Inventors and Their Great Ideas titles: The Man Who Invented the Ferris Wheel, The African-American Heart Surgery Pioneer, The Man Who Invented Television, The Man Who Invented the Electric Guitar, The Man Who Invented the Laser, and The Woman Who Invented the Thread that Stops Bullets.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Innovators series. These volumes focus on contemporary inventors of items or technologies of interest to young people. Biographical sketches accompany information about the inventions, their popularity or uses, and business aspects of the inventors' work. The photographs are often tangential; Tajiri includes no photos of the man himself, and in Kwolek a stock photo of Polish immigrants stands in for her parents. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Innovators titles: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim, Satoshi Tajiri, Stephanie Kwolek, and John Lasseter.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Genius at Work! Great Inventor Biographies series. These books present the lives of three very different inventors. Each was brilliant, determined, and, despite adversity, successful. Though the writing tends to oversimplify issues and concepts, the stories are inspiring. The many photographs and occasional diagrams add interest. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Genius at Work! Great Inventor Biographies titles: Ferris Wheel!, Electric Guitar Man, and Stopping Bullets with a Thread.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow