(4) K-3 Engineering Marvels series. These books provide brief accounts of major engineering feats--three transportation marvels and three iconic structures. Each book includes the project's purpose, how it was built, personnel involved, and physical challenges encountered. Archival and recent photographs give insight into the construction process. The lackluster texts are enhanced with sidebars providing statistical data and examples of similar projects. A short quiz is included in each title. Glos. Review covers these Engineering Marvels titles: Building Route 66, Building the Channel Tunnel, Building the Panama Canal, Building the Empire State Building, Building the Golden Gate Bridge, and Building the Hoover Dam.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) 4-6 Building by Design series. These books focus on the history of two transportation systems that were major engineering feats in the mid-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. Each book explains the need and purpose propelling the project, plus its planning, design, funding, obstacles faced, and modern use. Stock photographs, diagrams, direct quotes, and sidebars provide clarity. "Fast Facts" and critical thinking questions are appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Building by Design titles: Engineering the London Underground and Engineering the Panama Canal.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA Presidential Powerhouses series. Through these four significant presidencies, the continuing series examines milestones in America's history including the Louisiana Purchase, American Indian removal, the Civil War, and the dawn of the Progressive Era. Each president's early life, administration milestones, and ultimate legacy are discussed in detailed chapters filled with maps and period photos or illustrations. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers the following Presidential Powerhouses titles: Abraham Lincoln's Presidency, Thomas Jefferson's Presidency, Theodore Roosevelt's Presidency, and Andrew Jackson's Presidency.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 Fact Finders: Engineering Wonders series. A brief history of the engineering project includes the canal's inception, political ramifications, trade implications, obstacles, and workers' health issues related to malaria and yellow fever. The lock system of moving ships over Panama's mountainous terrain is explained by both text and infographics. Maps, archival photographs, and text boxes add interest to uncluttered pages. Critical thinking questions appended. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(2) YA In melodic verses, Engle offers the voices of the dark-skinned workers (known as the "silver people"), whose backbreaking labor helped build the Panama Canal, along with the perspective of a local girl. Interspersed are occasional echoes from flora and fauna as well as cameo appearances by historical figures. Together, they provide an illuminating picture of the project's ecological sacrifices and human costs. Bib.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(4) 4-6 Great Idea: Engineering series. Miller does a good job of explaining the reasons why the Panama Canal was constructed, from early attempts in the late 1800s to its completion in 1914. While the book does not mention any of the ecological consequences of this man-made structure, it's otherwise a comprehensive introduction. Diagrams, maps, and historical photos helpfully amplify the account. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(4) YA Essential Events series. This volume takes readers from the earliest notion of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the finished project in 1914. The readable narrative is accompanied by archival illustrations and numerous sidebars, which are useful but encroach on the main text. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA Bored in Ohio, the story's protagonist joins her parents in Panama, where her father leads the American effort to dig the canal. Privileged, she's separated from danger; however, she soon finds love in the trenches with Federico, an older, politically minded Spaniard who challenges her comfort zone. This passionate coming-of-age story explores social hierarchy, politics, and sexuality.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(4) 4-6 Great Building Feats series. This book gives an in-depth profile of the Panama Canal, from Christopher Columbus's exploration to the handing over of the canal to Panama in 1999. Although full of details about the construction, the book barely touches on the effects on the native population and plant and animal life. Maps, reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 In American History series. Five dramatic episodes in U.S. history are surveyed in volumes that ably place the events in the context of their times. The clear prose includes occasional boxed passages from source documents which, strangely, are only identified in the endnotes. The accompanying historical reproductions and black-and-white photos are often too dark. Time lines are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) YA At the end of 1999, the Panama Canal will pass from American to Panamanian control. Gold opens her informative but dry presentation with a description of the current situation, and the political aspects of its past and present ownership. Muddy black-and-white photographs and pie charts and graphs add to the book's dullness. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(3) 4-6 Cornerstones of Freedom series. This short overview offers a history of the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The accessible text, illustrated with photos and archival reproductions, briefly discusses the treaties affecting U.S. control of the canal. It goes on to cover the inequities faced by Panamanians working in the canal zone and looks at the negative impact the U.S. presence had on the unity of the nation. A time line is included. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow