Harry S. Truman

Notable for their respectful, fair-minded tone, this series emphasizes four 20th century presidents’ virtues and how each impacted the United States. Texts provide broad overviews of the presidents’ childhoods, early years, and terms in office—helping students discover these leaders’ very human sides. The books have strong visual appeal: high-quality photos depict subjects’ lives, careers, and concurrent historical events; type is set against colored backgrounds; and sidebars resemble campaign buttons. Standard nonfiction features—table of contents, brief index, glossary with pronunciation guides, bibliography with a link to the publisher’s site—acquaint youngest students with the tools they need to locate information. Also in each volume: a “Facts and Quotes” page highlighted by a statue or bust of the president. VERDICT A well-done introduction to presidents for early graders; highly recommended.