(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Geister. Sighting nature's clues of a coming storm, Sophie warns her family and then helps her father, the lighthouse keeper, prepare. In an informative but repetitive narrative, readers learn that a dandelion closing, an extra-thick spider's web, low-flying seagulls, etc., are all signs of changing weather fast approaching. Realistic oil paintings suggest an old-fashioned setting at Lake Superior's Split Rock Lighthouse. An explanatory author's note is appended.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Geister. Fourteen-year-old Werner Franz was a cabin boy aboard the ill-fated airship on its doomed flight to the U.S. His incredible story of survival is told here in vivid detail. The text includes a brief history of the Hindenburg before launching into Franz's tale. Painterly full-page illustrations provide a gripping visual backdrop to the text. Information about the disaster's aftermath is appended.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) K-3 Tales of Young Americans series. Illustrated by David Geister. In Riding, Janie goes with her father on a bus to hear Martin Luther King Jr. In Lucky, Ruth's school is closed during the Great Depression. Both stories purport to show a child's interpretation of a time in history, though their voices waver unconvincingly between naive and profound. The realistic-looking paintings, though stiff, make good use of light and shadow. Review covers these Tales of Young Americans titles: Riding to Washington and The Lucky Star.

Reviewer: Becky Levine