From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-This series represents a new hybrid. The text is much as expected, with the first chapter setting up the political and social scene that brought each president to office, followed by a chronological account of his life. The most unusual feature of the books is found between the table of contents and the first chapter-five pages with brief descriptions of 30 editorially chosen Web sites. Enslow states it will try to update and maintain the links for three years, but makes no guarantees, as the links lead to sites owned by Grolier, Microsoft, the Library of Congress, and other organizations and individuals. A helpful feature is a checklist of the types of information each link will lead to, so readers know if they're getting images, speeches, primary sources, or biographical information. Most pages have illustrations. While Alter and Knapp have done a good job of keeping the vocabulary easy and making each president seem human, the difficulty and interest levels of the Web sites vary. Still, there is a wealth of material in them, from Harper's Weekly editorials and actual legislation to obituaries and pictures of grave markers. While a standard search engine will turn up many of these sites, they are interspersed with others of perhaps lesser value. For schools and libraries without access to edited sites, these books will be an important purchase. For the rest, they will be supplemental.
Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
