(3) K-3 Illustrated by Theodore, III Taylor. Clive (Kool Herc) Campbell, the "father" of hip hop, moved from Jamaica to the Bronx with a passion for music and a dream of DJing. Hill's "hippity hop[py]" text eventually settles on an appropriate cadence. Taylor's double-page illustrations capture Herc's skilled hands at the turntables and the vitality of a burgeoning art form. A welcome addition to an underrepresented subject. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Slave and accomplished potter Dave (last name unknown) left behind a legacy of artistic work in the form of beautifully sculpted ceramic jars. In lyrical poetry, Hill writes a tribute to the man; Collier's majestic watercolor collages reflect Dave's artistry. The book's pacing is especially well conceived, the illustrations shown in tempo with the text's descriptions of throwing a pot. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) YA Art Encounters series. A well-known painting and its creator feature in each of these works of historical fiction. In Garden, a Persian girl seeks refuge at an artists' colony. In Mountains, a Chinese American boy goes to live with his uncle in Shanghai. A wounded soldier (Napoleon) works for Jacques-Louis David. The tales are complex and engrossing, with the artists' techniques illuminated in the stories' contexts. Timeline. Review covers these Art Encounters titles: Deep in the Mountains, Jackal in the Garden, and A Brush with Napoleon.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) YA This ambitious book begins with background information about the 1950s, arguing that 1960s counterculture arose as a reaction to America's economic prosperity and ensuing consumerism. Hill's thesis is sound, but some statements throughout are inflammatory or unsupported. Individual chapters focus on blacks, women, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans. Many photographs, sidebars, and quotations help with browsing but contribute to a busy design. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) YA While focusing on the writers, painters, musicians, and performers of the Harlem Renaissance, this book ranges widely across early twentieth-century African-American history. Much information and some good reproductions of artworks are here, but the text is clumsily written and repetitive, and the overuse of boxes, borders, insets, patterned backgrounds, and color blocks makes for a feverish design. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton