(4) K-3 Leaders Doing Headstands series. Illustrated by Chiara Fedele. These picture book biographies include a mix of direct quotes (in bold) and imagined dialogue and focus on childhood lessons that inspired and shaped these subjects. Parks's volume has emotive illustrations but takes a simplistic approach to her activism; Clinton's bio acknowledges the influence of her parents' values, but it's marred by cartoonish illustrations. Afterwords included. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Leaders Doing Headstands titles: When Hillary Rodham Clinton Played Ice Hockey and When Rosa Parks Went Fishing.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Zoom In on Great Women series. The lives of six diverse, inspirational women--three of whom (Goodall, Yousafzai, and Winfrey) are still living--are summarized in this series, which aligns to Common Core Standards. Though only broadly chronicling their challenges and/or accomplishments, these offerings may spur interest in further study. The archival photographs included are noteworthy, and lists of quick stats and key dates are appended. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Zoom In on Great Women titles: Anne Frank, Jane Goodall, Malala Yousafzai, Mother Teresa, Oprah Winfrey, and Rosa Parks.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(4) K-3 National Geographic Readers series. These beginning-reader biographies provide very basic outlines of their subjects' lives and importance. Readers will come away with enough background information to get a sense of how each subject has made an impact on the world. The photographs and sidebars are informative, but the overall layout is excessively busy. Timeline. Glos. Review covers these National Geographic Readers titles: Rosa Parks and Pope Francis.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) 4-6 Stories of the Civil Rights Movement series. This series provides upper-elementary students with in-depth coverage of phases and events of the U.S. civil rights movement. The narratives are supplemented effectively with archival photographs and primary source quotes. With overt Common Core–related intention, readers are challenged with overabundant sidebars and inserts containing critical-thinking questions, writing prompts, and suggested research topics and readings. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Stories of the Civil Rights Movement titles: James Meredith and the University of Mississippi, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Summer, 1964, The Little Rock Nine, Nonviolent Resistance in the Civil Rights Movement, The Passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington, and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) 4-6 Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Photographs series. These informative books are moving photographic displays of the peaks of the civil rights movement. An introduction contextualizes each volume's events, which are then portrayed through black-and-white archival images with explanatory captions and through narrations of event details and key figures; frequent inclusion of primary-source quotes contributes to the sense of immediacy. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. Review covers these The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Photographs titles: The Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Photographs, The Story of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement in Photographs, The Story of the Civil Rights Freedom Rides in Photographs, The Story of the Civil Rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Photographs, The Story of the Little Rock Nine in Photographs, and The Story of the Selma Voting Rights Marches in Photographs.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(4) 4-6 History's All-Stars series. Illustrated by Meryl Henderson. Originally in the Childhood of Famous Americans series, these biographies are otherwise unchanged. Focusing on events in each figure's childhood, the congenial narratives read smoothly, with natural-sounding invented dialogue. Font size and leading are generous, creating an inviting reading environment. Each chapter includes a black-and-white illustration; the art is dated-looking in King. Parks appends an un-updated reading list. Review covers these History's All-Stars titles: Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr..

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(3) K-3 Ordinary People Change the World series. Illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. These small-trim biographies use chatty first-person narration, cartoon art, and occasional comics-style frames to tell their subjects' stories. Einstein's contains a few funny moments, while Parks's does not underplay the injustices she lived through; both books include gentle moralizing: e.g., "Never stop asking 'Why?'" (Einstein) and "Stand for what's right" (Parks). Vintage photographs and a quote are appended to each book. Review covers these Ordinary People Change the World titles: I Am Albert Einstein and I Am Rosa Parks.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Steven Walker. Lyrical prose describes the journey of bus #2857, from the assembly line in Michigan, to service in Montgomery, Alabama (before, during, and after Rosa Parks's famous stand), to the vehicle's final destination, Detroit's Ford Museum. Expansive oil illustrations consistently reflect the bus as the book's central focus; it's an interesting and well-presented perspective. Reading list, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. An African American boy and his mother are on the same bus as Rosa Parks when she refuses to relinquish her seat. The story, told from the boy's perspective, shows that although he doesn't understand everything that's going on, he may have a glimmer of understanding and a dream of the future. Reynolds's poetic narrative and Cooper's warm and expressive oil illustrations sustain the premise.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) 4-6 Transcending Race in America: Biographies of Biracial Achievers series. These biracial (or multiracial) achievers are revealed through their backgrounds, goals, accomplishments, and obstacles overcome. Parks and Du Bois are examined against the historical context of racial inequality and injustice, the others in light of contemporary struggles. The pages, jam-packed with pull-quotes, sidebars, and crisp photographs, are difficult to navigate. There are seven other fall 2009 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Transcending Race in America: Biographies of Biracial Achievers titles: David Blaine, Rosa Parks, Alicia Keys, Prince, Soledad O'Brien, and W. E. B. Du Bois.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) 4-6 Sterling Biographies series. Attractive layouts and well-chosen images including photographs, paintings, documents (e.g., the police report on Rosa Parks's arrest), etc. make for accessible, if adulatory, biographies of six noteworthy African Americans. Sidebars flesh out historical contexts and important contemporaries. Malcolm X is the most riveting, both because of the subject's criminal past and his controversial beliefs. Across the volumes, quotations aren't cited. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Sterling Biographies titles: Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Marian Anderson, and Frederick Douglass.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) YA Lucent Library of Black History series. Many of the volumes in this series tracing African American history address slavery, from the Atlantic slave trade to the ongoing slavery reparation movement; Rosa Parks focuses on the civil rights movement and Religious discusses faith and the history of gospel music. The texts are dense but informative. Some black-and-white illustrations and photographs help break up the pages. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review includes these Lucent Library of Black History titles: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Reparations for Slavery, The Civil War and Emancipation, The African American Religious Experience, The Atlantic Slave Trade, and Reconstruction.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. A guitar-playing hound sings of the Montgomery bus boycott. With creativity, heart, and style, the Pinkneys capture the feel of the time, culminating in the landmark Supreme Court decision. Brian Pinkney's illustrations, in deep blue and rich gold, eloquently express emotions. He sweeps colored inks onto clay board along with freely applied black swirls, touched lightly with his familiar scratchboard technique. Reading list.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(4) K-3 Time for Kids Biographies series. The opening chapter introduces Rosa Parks through her historical stand against segregation. Succeeding chapters present a simple, chronological text of her life, enhanced by color photographs and sidebars. An interview with Congressman John Conyers (Parks worked in his office) is appended. For the sake of accessibility, the text sometimes oversimplifies issues; lack of back matter is unfortunate. Timeline.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) YA Black Americans of Achievement, Legacy Edition series. Each updated biography (Cochran, King, Parks) explains its well-known subject's rise from adversity to national and/or international recognition, working for social justice in his or her own way. Glover's volume details his past and present-day career as a tap dancer. Captioned photographs and boxed inserts enhance the conversational texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. Review covers these Black Americans of Achievement, Legacy Edition titles: Johnnie Cochran, Coretta Scott King, Savion Glover, and Rosa Parks.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) 4-6 Don't Know Much About series. Illustrated by Sergio Martinez. A question-and-answer approach is used in these books about two Americans, taking the reader from their subjects' early lives through adulthood. In addition to the accomplishments of each and the effect they had on American history, Davis includes little-known details of their lives. The cluttered format includes sidebars, drawings and archival photographs. Timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these Don't Know Much About titles: Don't Know Much about Rosa Parks and Don't Know Much about Thomas Jefferson.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Photo-Illustrated Biography series. Occasionally dry but easy to read and understand, these simple biographies adequately retell each subject's life story and contribution to society. Archival photos and reproductions enhance the text; however, the images are occasionally paired with boxed quotations, while the captions confusingly appear on the opposite pages. Timeline, websites, reading list. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Photo-Illustrated Biography titles: Clara Barton, Helen Keller, John Adams, and Rosa Parks.]

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 History Maker Bios series. With soft illustrations on almost every page, the first-ever first lady is presented as a gracious hostess and a selfless helpmate to George. Beyond that, little about her own life and personality is included--the emphasis is on the historic events of the emerging United States. A period portrait of young Martha Custis (Washington), an afterword, and a timeline are included.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) K-3 En route to school, narrator Marcie hops aboard a talking bus that tells the tale of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. The gimmick doesn't work--Marcie is a flat character, and the magic bus detracts from Parks's incredible story--but the book is easily redeemed by Ringgold's trademark black-outlined, richly textured, fiercely colorful illustrations.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 These adequately written biographies of five African Americans influential in science, the military, the abolitionist movement, and women's and civil rights causes convey each subject's drive and courage in pursuit of their goals. The accessibly designed books are illustrated with archival reproductions and sepia-toned photographs. A time line is included in each volume. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow