(3) K-3 Pull Ahead Books series. Photographs by Jim Baron. These books introduce newly independent readers to the roles and duties of nurses, EMTs, and school bus drivers. Color photographs provide great behind-the-scenes glimpses, and key vocabulary words are highlighted in bold throughout and defined in a glossary. Additional facts and some history are appended. Reading list, websites. Ind. Review covers these Pull Ahead Books titles: Nurses, School Bus Drivers, and EMTs.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) K-3 Start to Finish series. Color photographs and simple texts characterize these books designed for beginning readers. Children interested in the topics will find most of the illustrations helpful; those wanting depth of information will need to rely on other sources. Glos., ind. Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Maple Tree to Syrup and From Fruit to Jelly.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Start to Finish series. Photographs by Lynn Stone. Large photographs and brief texts characterize these books designed for beginning readers. The simplistic style fails to yield much depth, and some topics are more complex than can be adequately explained in the format. Overall, each book offers the most basic information about production of an everyday object or structure. Glos., ind. Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Idea to Book, From Cloth to American Flag, From Cement to Bridge, From Metal to Airplane, From Tree to House, and From Rock to Road.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Pull Ahead Books series. Useful for beginning readers studying community helpers, these books provide very basic introductions to some familiar professions. Vocabulary words are printed in bold and defined in a glossary. Supported by photos of people at work, the books also contain a brief list of historical and career facts. Reading list, websites. Ind. Review covers these Pull Ahead Books titles: Firefighters, Doctors, Police Officers, Librarians, and Teachers.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. Each of these books for beginning readers looks at the growing cycle for a particular plant. A simple sentence is paired with a color photo on every page, and vocabulary words are printed in bold-faced type. While hardly exhaustive, these are basic, descriptive introductions. A life cycle diagram and two pages of brief facts are appended. Glos., ind. [Review covers these First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles titles: Beans, Oak Trees, Potatoes, and Tulips.]

Reviewer: Arianne Vanni

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. These slim books use the sparest of sentences to introduce new readers to two familiar animals and how they grow. The series' strength is its crisp, close-up color photos of its subjects. Each book concludes with a diagram naming the parts of the featured animal, information about the adult animal, and "fun facts," some of which could have enlivened the main text. Glos., ind. [Review covers these First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles titles: Frogs and Snakes.]

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. These slim books use the sparest of sentences to introduce new readers to two familiar animals and how they grow. The series' strength is its crisp, close-up color photos of its subjects. Each book concludes with a diagram naming the parts of the featured animal, information about the adult animal, and "fun facts," some of which could have enlivened the main text. Glos., ind. [Review covers these First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles titles: Frogs and Snakes.]

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. This short, simply written book describes how a butterfly changes from egg to caterpillar to fully grown lepidopteran. The vivid close-up color photos, especially those of a chrysalis, should keep readers rapt. The book concludes with a diagram labeling the parts of a butterfly, information about adult butterflies, and "fun facts," some of which could have enlivened the main text. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. Each of these books for beginning readers looks at the growing cycle for a particular plant. A simple sentence is paired with a color photo on every page, and vocabulary words are printed in bold-faced type. While hardly exhaustive, these are basic, descriptive introductions. A life cycle diagram and two pages of brief facts are appended. Glos., ind. [Review covers these First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles titles: Beans, Oak Trees, Potatoes, and Tulips.]

Reviewer: Arianne Vanni

(3) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. Each of these books for beginning readers looks at the growing cycle for a particular plant. A simple sentence is paired with a color photo on every page, and vocabulary words are printed in bold-faced type. While hardly exhaustive, these are basic, descriptive introductions. A life cycle diagram and two pages of brief facts are appended. Glos., ind. [Review covers these First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles titles: Beans, Oak Trees, Potatoes, and Tulips.]

Reviewer: Arianne Vanni

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. New-reader-friendly prose briefly introduces the duck and describes its growth from egg to adult. The book's hallmark is its close-up color photos of its subject. The offering concludes with a diagram labeling the parts of a duck, information about the adult duck, and "fun facts," some of which could have enlivened the main text. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. Each of these books for beginning readers looks at the growing cycle for a particular plant. A simple sentence is paired with a color photo on every page, and vocabulary words are printed in bold-faced type. While hardly exhaustive, these are basic, descriptive introductions. A life cycle diagram and two pages of brief facts are appended. Glos., ind. [Review covers these First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles titles: Beans, Oak Trees, Potatoes, and Tulips.]

Reviewer: Arianne Vanni

(4) K-3 First Step Nonfiction: Life Cycles series. This is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it introduction to the bunny and how it grows into a full-scale rabbit. The book features stunning close-up color photos of its subject (the images of the babies are particularly adorable). The book concludes with a diagram identifying the parts of a rabbit, information about adult rabbits, and "fun facts," some of which could have enlivened the main text. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram