(3) K-3 Good Question! series. Illustrated by Robert Barrett. Using a question-and-answer format, Sandler presents a broad overview of events leading up to and occurring during World War II. Brief but sufficient explanations are given to questions such as "How did Hitler become so powerful?," "Why was Anne Frank hiding?," and "How did the war change life in America?" Illustrations, archival photographs, and maps enhance the insightful text. Timeline.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Robert T. Barrett. Weatherford (Obama: Only in America) here chronicles the First Lady's childhood and pre–Barack accomplishments, pointedly downplaying her White House days: "What Michelle vows is that she is a mother first and a First Lady second." It's a point well taken, but the text can be a little overdramatic. Barrett's sepia-heavy oils are disarmingly intimate, almost like personal photographs.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert T. Barrett. With energy and emotion, Weatherford tells Barack Obama's life story. The text, formatted to look like a poem, is just the right level of difficulty for a picture book biography, but the page-concluding quotes plucked from Obama's speeches aren't worth the disruption to the narrative. Although the oil portraits don't always closely resemble their subjects, they lend intimacy to Obama's very public story.

Reviewer: Nell Beram