(3) 4-6 Primary Source Explorers series. These introductory texts emphasize primary sources in the telling of history. Photographs of the modern-day locations, historical documents, maps, and paintings enhance the texts, which detail each individual's voyages, his place in the age of exploration, and broader historical context. Frequent questions encourage readers to make modern connections and question the morality of the explorer's choices. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Primary Source Explorers titles: A Journey with Christopher Columbus, A Journey with Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, A Journey with Hernán Cortés, A Journey with Sieur de La Salle, A Journey with Henry Hudson, and A Journey with Juan Ponce de León.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) 4-6 Great Explorations series. Six explorers--including three Spanish conquistadors--are profiled alongside the lands and peoples they discovered and subjugated. Written in a colloquial style, several of the titles skate over the effects the Europeans' conquests had on the native populations, but for the most part these books are thorough. All six titles contain good-quality reproductions. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Explorations titles: Vasco da Gama, Zebulon Pike, Samuel de Champlain, Francisco Pizarro, Juan Ponce de León, and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) K-3 Explorers! series. These straightforward books focus primarily on the explorations and discoveries of Hudson and Ponce de León, while acknowledging the limited amount of information known about the two men. Illustrated with reproductions and maps tinted with pastel hues, the books provide good jumping-off points for report writers. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Explorers! titles: Henry Hudson and Ponce de León.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) YA Great Hispanic Heritage series. This biography of the famed Spanish conquistador, about whom there exist few primary sources, lucidly deals with the murkiness surrounding the motive for his journeys to America: was it, as legend has it, to find the fountain of youth, or was it wealth and prestige? Scattered throughout are maps, archival portraits and illustrations, and helpful boxed historical asides on the era. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 In World History series. Although the primary focus in each of these two books is Marco Polo and Ponce de León, a lot of attention is given to Venetian, Mongolian, and Chinese history in Empire and to Christopher Columbus and Spanish exploration in Ponce. Well written, with selections from the writings of Polo and Ponce de León, the books are illustrated with maps and black-and-white sketches. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. [Review covers these In World History titles: The Great Empire of China and Marco Polo in World History and Ponce de León and the Age of Spanish Exploration in World History.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Explorers and Exploration series. Illustrated by Patrick O'Brien. These simplified accounts of European explorers are told from a European perspective, though the native peoples they encountered and sometimes conquered are accurately depicted. The texts are generally choppy, but report writers will find them informative. Each book has a clear map, reprints of old color pictures, some new illustrations, a list of key events in the explorer's century, and a time line of important events in his life. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Explorers of New Worlds series. Illustrated with color reproductions and photographs, the books provide biographical information and track the explorations that made each of these historic figures famous. The tone of the prose is generally casual and somewhat dumbed down, and generic "historians" and "researchers" are often cited to back up statements but remain unnamed in the text. Time lines are included. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta