(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. This easy-reader biography covers Eliza's wealthy childhood and upbringing; her marriage to Alexander Hamilton and their lives during the American Revolution; the tragic deaths by duel of her son and husband; and her later life devoted to charity and education. Solid, succinct explanations and cartoonlike illustrations provide a basic understanding of the woman's standing in American history.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julianna Swaney. This enlightening and inspiring biography highlights Dr. Sara Josephine Baker's work with impoverished women and children in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Hell's Kitchen. Dr. Jo's public-health breakthroughs included heatstroke-safe infant clothes, antibacterial eye drops to prevent blindness, and training requirements for midwives. Swaney's watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations contribute both context and emotion. "More about Dr. Jo" is appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Melissa Castrillón. This engaging fictionalized account of Mary Anning's scientific curiosity begins in 1807 Lyme Regis, England, where eight-year-old Mary lives with her poor family. Mary shares her father's passion for finding fossils, and after his death she finds, at age twelve, what is later called an Ichthyosaurus. Extensive end notes are appended to the well-researched novel. Reading list.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(3) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by Renné Benoit. Kulling's picture book–biography series on historical inventors continues. Zamboni's name is synonymous with his ice-resurfacing machine; the interesting story behind it is engagingly told and nicely illustrated in watercolor and colored pencil. The son of freed slaves, lesser-known Morgan's inventions include what became gas masks and traffic lights; his compelling biography, with finely detailed pen-and-ink and watercolor art, includes attention to prejudices he faced. Review covers the following titles: Clean Sweep! and To the Rescue!.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by David Parkins. Kulling's picture book–biography series on historical inventors continues. Zamboni's name is synonymous with his ice-resurfacing machine; the interesting story behind it is engagingly told and nicely illustrated in watercolor and colored pencil. The son of freed slaves, lesser-known Morgan's inventions include what became gas masks and traffic lights; his compelling biography, with finely detailed pen-and-ink and watercolor art, includes attention to prejudices he faced. Review covers the following titles: Clean Sweep! and To the Rescue!.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by Bill Slavin. This brief, uneven look at Tesla's inventing career begins with his 1884 arrival in America and ends rather abruptly with his 1896 Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant. Although focusing on Tesla's famous conflicts with Edison, his rivalry with Marconi--who was credited with inventing the radio but used Tesla's ideas--is glossed over in an endnote. Droll pen-and-ink drawings capture the era.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Qin Leng. It is Alice Babette's birthday, and her friend Gertrude is planning a surprise dinner. While disaster is being brewed (but poetry written), Alice takes herself for a day out. Adult fans of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas can nudge each other at the story's allusions; all can enjoy the airy illustrations of Paris in April and the affectionately funny portrait of a legendary friendship.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2016

(3) K-3 CitizenKid series. Illustrated by Felicita Sala. This historical picture book introduces activist "Mother" Jones, who in 1903 led an over-one-hundred-mile march to President Theodore Roosevelt's summer home to protest child labor. Focusing on fictional eight-year-old Aidan, a cotton mill worker, the long days of walking, camping out, and rallying are portrayed as an adventurous undertaking that shed light on children's rights. Old-timey paintings capture grandmotherly Jones's feistiness. Author's note appended. Websites.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sydney Smith. As a young man, painter Grant Wood leaves the family farm--and his beloved cow, Tillie--for the artistic rigors of Paris. Homesick, he returns and creates the work for which he is best known: American Gothic. Kulling fictionalizes Wood's story (e.g., she made up Tillie) in a child-friendly way. Smith's illustrations--using watercolors, ink, and a toothbrush--have a pleasingly pastoral, mottled look.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. This companion to The Tweedles Go Electric has the early-1900s family keeping up with their neighbors by buying a telephone. The lighthearted story's parallel to our current-day distraction with screens includes Papa catching tween Tweedle Franny up in the middle of the night chatting on the modern "marvel." The refined graphite and mixed-media-collage illustrations effectively lend the story an old-fashioned feel.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by David Parkins. Lillian Gilbreth's background as a psychologist, efficiency expert, industrial engineer, and widowed mother of eleven enabled her to--among many other accomplishments--design improvements for kitchens in the early twentieth century. The straightforward narrative and droll pen-and-ink with watercolor illustrations pay tribute to the spirit of a remarkable modern inventor, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. In 1903, the Tweedle family eschews the new noisy, dirty, unreliable gas- and steam-powered automobiles, so Papa buys a quiet electric car. Mr. Hamm the butcher tells them to "get a real car," but when his car is out of gas during an emergency, a Tweedle helps out with their trusty electric. Energetic art accompanies the lighthearted story with contemporary relevance.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Esperança Melo. When scatterbrained baker Madame Croissant gets an important order for five hundred cupcakes, she scrambles to fill it. Her granddaughter, who's never baked before, tries to help but causes a mess. Fortunately, the bakery's faithful delivery dog, Mister Dash, comes to the rescue. The acrylic illustrations are charming, but the story, though it has its funny moments, lacks continuity.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki. This picture book biography recounts the story of how a young Italian boy became the father of modern wireless technology. Marconi's love of science and his fascination with Ben Franklin's discoveries in electricity led him, through trial and error, to eventually send a message between England and Newfoundland via his wireless telegraph. Mediocre acrylic paintings accompany the brief but informative text.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Richard Walz. Kulling relates the events that led to Francis Scott Key's writing the national anthem. Concise, easy-to-read sentences that won't overwhelm new readers provide much information about Key's life and the events before and during the War of 1812. The inconsistently cartoony illustrations are an odd match for the straightforward historical account. An appended note offers additional details about the famous flag.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by David Parkin. This picture-book biography details the mid-nineteenth-century life and eventual successes of Elisha Otis, inventor of the modern elevator. Kulling succinctly and simply recounts Otis's progression from bed-frame factory worker to designer of lifts for heavy machinery to World's Fair marvel when he debuted his passenger elevator. Crisp pen-and-ink with watercolor illustrations contribute energy and levity to the account.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by David Parkins. In the mid-nineteenth-century, Margaret "Mattie" Knight broke ground for women by putting her natural curiosity and mechanical inclination to good use as an inventor. Her inventions weren't the sexiest--this book focuses mainly on her machine that formed a flat-bottom paper bag--but her know-how and spirit, reflected in invented dialogue and snappy pen-and-ink with watercolor illustrations, were indomitable.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Richard Walz. This introduction to Bell's life chronicles his invention and development of the telephone. The text is easy to read, though specific details about the invention are vague. Lively cartoon illustrations include some humorous moments (e.g., Bell and Watson celebrating their success), which may draw in readers.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 Road to Reading series. Illustrated by Michael Maydak. Using basic, easy sentences, this introduction to elephants covers the habits of elephants in the wild, distinguishes between African and Asian elephants, reviews what is known about elephant emotions, and discusses research and conservation efforts. Vocabulary words like savannah and habitat are defined within the text. Simple watercolor paintings illustrate the book.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Cliff Spohn. This simple introduction to one of the most influential women of the twentieth century is geared toward more independent readers. The somewhat choppily written text follows Roosevelt's childhood and young adult years, outlines her contributions as First Lady, and discusses her work after her husband's death. A combination of sometimes stiff artwork and archival photographs illustrate this biography.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee