(4) 4-6 American Girl Mysteries series. On a steamboat traveling up the Mississippi, Marie-Grace helps her new friend Wilhelmina figure out where her recently deceased father hid the gold that will save her family's land. The steamboat setting is well described and though the dialogue is wooden, young readers will enjoy puzzling through some nursery rhyme clues to solve the mystery.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(4) 4-6 American Girl Mysteries series. Cécile, a "free person of color," searches her city of New Orleans for a lost necklace and learns about "maroons" (escaped slaves living in the Louisiana swamps), circus life, and more. Coleman ably evokes the novel's 1854 New Orleans setting and Cécile's perspective is interesting, but the narrative tries too hard to incorporate history. A historical note and French pronunciation guide are included. Glos.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 American Girl Mysteries series. Rebecca's trip to see Houdini perform in Times Square leads to a series of misadventures involving stolen goods, fortune-tellers, scams, and real danger. Her close-knit Jewish family is warmly portrayed, as is the early 1900s Lower East Side setting. Secondary characters are less well developed, and the plot is overly busy. A historical note is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 American Girl Mysteries series. In this story set in 1935 Cincinnati, Kit, spunky girl reporter, must solve the problem of how and why her beloved dog, Grace, has gone missing. With the help of her friends, she unravels a plot to steal and sell show dogs. Although series fans will enjoy the mystery, its stock figures and overly complex story line may deter others.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 4-6 History Mysteries series. Twelve-year-old Elspeth lives in 1775 North Carolina with her Scottish immigrant grandparents. Times are tense: local Patriots try to strong-arm Elspeth's grandfather into joining their cause, but he and the other MacKinnons join the Loyalists. This engaging mystery--who in the community is a clandestine Patriot? and who has betrayed the MacKinnons to the Patriots?--shows readers another aspect of the American Revolution.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Helen Craig. In her thirteenth book, Angelina travels aboard her grandparents' canal boat, The Jolly Rat, to the Mouseland Dance Festival. Angelina cleverly evades boat work by practicing her pliés and arabesques from stem to stern. Holabird's lighthearted text and Craig's disarming illustrations make for a sweet story about intergenerational relationships.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 American Girls Collection series. Filled with photographs and illustrations, this useful resource successfully combines folktales, history, and bits of cultural information on the northwestern Nez Perce tribe in the mid-eighteenth century. While the references to Kaya, a fictional American Girls character, are distracting, the presentation will attract browsers as well as those doing school reports. Glos.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 History Mysteries series. In each book, a fatherless twelve-year-old uses her wits and courage to protect a sibling and solve a mystery: Rose Taylor risks being shot in Levi Frontier's Wild West Show in 1886, while Emily Scott spies on gang leaders in a 1925 Jersey Shore hotel. Both books are quick paced and exciting despite some underdeveloped characters. Each book ends with "A Peek into the Past." [Review covers these History Mysteries titles: Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic and Danger at the Wild West Show.]

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. Twelve-year-old Laleena (her name is later changed) unknowingly sells herself into slavery in order to provide for her fatherless family. She ends up in the Sultan's harem in Istanbul, where she works in the gardens and teaches painting. The promising plot lacks tension and aspects of harem life aren't satisfactorily explained, but the intriguing setting and realistic characters will draw in readers. An author's note provides background. Glos.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 History Mysteries series. In each book, a fatherless twelve-year-old uses her wits and courage to protect a sibling and solve a mystery: Rose Taylor risks being shot in Levi Frontier's Wild West Show in 1886, while Emily Scott spies on gang leaders in a 1925 Jersey Shore hotel. Both books are quick paced and exciting despite some underdeveloped characters. Each book ends with "A Peek into the Past." [Review covers these History Mysteries titles: Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic and Danger at the Wild West Show.]

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. Twelve-year-old Saba and her older brother, who have been raised by their grandparents in remote, rural Ethiopia, are kidnapped and thrown into the chaos of nineteenth-century court life. Though events sometimes seem a bit contrived, Saba is a compelling character, and the historical details are interesting. A note about Ethiopia, "then and now," is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey narrate this slight story. Alex, the eldest, wants to be an actress and is starting to outgrow her younger sisters' childish games, while Stevie and Joey struggle to keep their relationship close by forming a Sisters Club--secret knock and all. The usual family dynamics are at work here, and most readers will recognize their own family in this quick, entertaining read.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(1) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. A light hand, sharp wit, serious social issues, and a hint of subversion are ingredients in this lively story. Times are hard for Kathleen and her family, who live in a crowded tenement in 1930s Dublin. Her opportunity for advancement comes when an unexpectedly kind nun recommends Irish-dance lessons. Well-contextualized Irish words and phrases are further defined in the appended glossary; historical notes and photos are included.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2004

(4) 4-6 American Girls Collection series. Filled with photos and drawings, this is a useful resource on America during the 1930s. Each chapter traces an aspect of life, from economics to the weather to popular culture. The link to Kit Kittredge, the American Girls character, is a bit tenuous, and the fictional asides seem forced, but readers will enjoy looking through the busy, oversize pages.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. Coincidence enables twelve-year-old Cecile Revel to become caregiver to the dogs of King Louis XIV's sister-in-law. At the Sun King's court in Versailles, Cecile becomes a favorite of the young royals, unravels the secret of her own past, and initiates a stand against blood-letting that saves the life of the heir-apparent. Historical details are accurate, but the sensibility of Cecile's first-person narrative exudes twenty-first-century awareness.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. When twelve-year-old Elizabethan Isabel embarks on a mini-adventure--she sneaks out with the maid to see a play--she is caught and shipped off to her aunt's in the country. Through a series of improbable events, she is attacked by brigands, joins a theater company, and saves her sister's life during an outbreak of the plague. Details of the period are accurate and interesting.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. After her sister's wedding, Neela, twelve, is next in line for an arranged marriage. Questioning the restrictions on women in 1939 India, Neela finds herself drawn to the incendiary ideas of those fighting for independence from Britain--and taking action when her father disappears during a protest march. Political and social history are awkwardly grafted on, but Neela's defiant spirit helps move the story forward.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 History Mysteries series. In Whistler, Emma and her dress-reformer mother face trouble when they move West in 1867 to run a newspaper in Colorado Territory. In Chilkoot, Hetty, her father, her uncle, and a friend contend with a mysterious thief as they attempt to hike Chilkoot Pass enroute to the Yukon goldfields in 1897. Each story is suspenseful though somewhat formulaic. An afterword provides archival photos and additional historical information. [Review covers these History Mysteries titles: Whistler in the Dark and Mystery at Chilkoot Pass.]

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 AG Fiction series. Pogo has just been accepted to gymnastics camp. But her plans are hindered by her self-employed mother's and stay-at-home father's lack of funds. Typical pre-teen self-involvement is combined with jealousy of her baby stepsister and fear that Mom will lose her business. Though the secondary characters and the family situation are believable, Pogo won't generate much sympaythy among readers.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(1) 4-6 Girls of Many Lands series. Twelve-year-old Minuk, a Yup'ik girl living in 1890 Alaska, is eager to learn about the Hoffs, a family of Christian missionaries, and the wider world they represent. While Minuk struggles to understand their faith and ponders the lower status of women in both cultures, the plot consists mainly of events in the daily life of the village. This story, and the skillful manner in which it is told, should knock the socks off habitual readers of series historical fiction. Glos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2003