(4) K-3 Start to Finish, Second Series: Everyday Products series. Designed for young readers, these books provide very basic but adequate introductions to three everyday consumer products. Each follows a natural resource (forests, iron ore, and petroleum) through a step-by-step process to a finished product. Simple statements are rather sketchy, often failing to provide enough information about complex operations. Large color photographs enhance the texts. Glos., ind. Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Tree to Paper, From Iron to Car, and From Oil to Gas.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Start to Finish, Second Series: Everyday Products series. Designed for young readers, these books provide very basic but adequate introductions to three everyday consumer products. Each follows a natural resource (forests, iron ore, and petroleum) through a step-by-step process to a finished product. Simple statements are rather sketchy, often failing to provide enough information about complex operations. Large color photographs enhance the texts. Glos., ind. Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Tree to Paper, From Iron to Car, and From Oil to Gas.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Start to Finish, Second Series: Nature's Cycles series. Kids will be intrigued by the full-color, close-up photos showing frog eggs, water-dwelling tadpoles, and the progression to air-breathing frogs. New readers will appreciate the simple sentences describing what to look for in each picture as the transformation unfolds. This is a slight but engaging presentation. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(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

(3) K-3 Pull Ahead Books series. These small, square books discuss each bird's habits and characteristics, how they find food, and how they raise their young. The limited text and many photos work well together, and though the books are very brief, each provides an adequate introduction for beginning readers. A North American habitat map and labeled picture are appended. Glos. Review covers these Pull Ahead Books titles: Quiet Owls and Mallard Ducks.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(4) K-3 Start to Finish series. 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

(4) 4-6 History Maker Bios series. These highly accessible biographies feature numerous black-and-white photos and other supporting materials. Short chapters provide straightforward factual information covering key events and the role each subject played in American history. Unfortunately, the amateurish cartoon illustrations mar the otherwise attractive format. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these History Maker Bios titles: Sitting Bull, Tecumseh, Chief Joseph, Sequoyah, Geronimo, and Quanah Parker.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Start to Finish series. Color photographs and simple texts characterize these books designed for beginning readers. Children interested in these topics will find most of the illustrations helpful, but readers will have to look elsewhere for more substantive information about these topics. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Tree to Table, From Sea to Salt, From Iron to Car, and From Sand to Glass.]

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Start to Finish series. Photographs by Randall Hyman & Randall Hyman. Color photographs and simple texts characterize these books designed for beginning readers. Children interested in these topics will find most of the illustrations helpful, but readers will have to look elsewhere for more substantive information about these topics. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Tree to Table, From Sea to Salt, From Iron to Car, and From Sand to Glass.]

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 On My Own Biography series. Illustrated by Nicolas Debon. Considering vocabulary and sentence limitations, these authors adequately present the lives of their subjects: Banneker pioneered as a black farmer, surveyor, and almanac writer; Coleman as a black woman pilot; and Nightingale as a wealthy Englishwoman who founded a nursing school and corps. The biographies' illustrations are colorful if somewhat static. Afterword, timeline. [Review covers these On My Own Biography titles: Benjamin Banneker, Bessie Coleman, and Florence Nightingale.]

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) K-3 History Maker Bios series. Each book in this series presents basic biographical material about an important figure in science or industry. The lackluster text is enhanced by plentiful black-and-white archival photos and period reproductions; unnecessary cartoonlike illustrations in color detract from the overall design. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. [Review covers these History Maker Bios titles: George Eastman, Albert Einstein, Milton Hershey, The Wright Brothers, Marie Curie, and Thomas Edison.]

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) K-3 Start to Finish series. These books are designed to give beginning readers information as to how ordinary products are produced. Each text is enhanced by color photographs that children will find helpful. However, the brief, simplistic style fails to yield depth of information. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Start to Finish titles: From Cane to Sugar, From Peanut to Peanut Butter, From Grass to Milk, and From Milk to Cheese.]

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 On My Own Biography series. Illustrated by Craig Orback. Hale, accompanied by oil illustrations, focuses on the patriot who was hung for spying on British troops in New York. Keller, illustrated with soft color art, is yet another biography on this inspirational woman. Neither provides detailed information about their subjects, but both easy-to-read books are adequate introductions. An afterword and timeline are appended. [Review covers these On My Own titles: Helen Keller and Nathan Hale.]

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Pull Ahead Books series. Each of the books in this series offers an easy-to-read introduction to a common animal. Close-up color photos illustrate basic information about habitat, physical characteristics, and care of young, though some of the photos are not well matched with the text (e.g., text about porcupines' nocturnal habits is accompanied by pictures of the animals during the day). A habitat map and labeled drawing conclude the book. Glos. [Review covers these Pull Ahead Books titles: Pouncing Bobcats, Diving Dolphins, and Prickly Porcupines.]

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 History Maker Bios series. The colorful characters featured in this biography series make for lively reading. The texts focus on the path each individual took as they pioneered their way into the history books. Simply designed, the pages include reproductions of period illustrations, portraits, and photos; and somewhat goofy color cartoon illustrations. Timelines punctuate the volumes. There are six other fall 2002 books in this series. Bib., ind. [Review covers these History Maker Bios titles: Davy Crockett, Dolley Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Amelia Earhart, Paul Revere, and Neil Armstrong.]

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(4) K-3 On My Own Biography series. Illustrated by Jeni Reeves. This beginning-reader biography is laudably straightforward about the reliability of information about Pocahontas. The author follows through by noting the sources for particular incidents: such as Pocahontas's allegedly saving John Smith's life and why it might not be true (e.g., Smith was a braggart). Occasionally awkward drawings illustrate the brief text; a timeline and afterword are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Colors of the World series. Illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. In the books in this series, each of ten double-page spreads features a color, the color's name is translated into the country's national language(s), along with the phonetic pronunciation. Faced by a stiff illustration featuring the color, a couple of paragraphs briefly discuss random cultural or historical information. Subjects include an Israeli Arab wedding and the Sabbath, and Communist China and the Great Wall. Ind. [Review covers these Colors of the World titles: Colors of Israel and Colors of China.]

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Colors of the World series. Illustrated by Jeni Reeves. In the books in this series, each of ten double-page spreads features a color, the color's name is translated into the country's national language, along with the phonetic pronunciation (Russia includes the Cyrillic). Faced by a stiff illustration featuring the color, a couple of paragraphs briefly discuss random cultural or historical information. Subjects include Russia's Red Army and caviar, and France's lavender fields and the Tour de France. Ind. [Review covers these Colors of the World titles: Colors of France and Colors of Russia.]

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn