Sommers presents the life and writings of popular author Chris Crutcher through basic facts about Crutcher's life and journey as a child, student, athlete, teacher, therapist, and writer. Readers will also learn how those different elements help shape his personal writing. There is much literary criticism in this series, including an interesting discussion of the portrayal of male and female characters in Crutcher's novels and Crutcher's interest in sports, declaring, "Ultimately, Crutcher likes sports because he views them as one of the few areas in life in which the rules are clear and easy to follow." In a similar vein, Spring's title on M. E. Kerr examines Kerr's life and role as a pioneer in young adult literature and how she introduced lesbianism, a taboo subject of discussion, in her workSpring Fire (1952). Other titles in the series focus on authors Katherine Paterson, E. B. White, and Mildred Taylor. Students will appreciate the interviews and time line of the author's life, which will meet basic report requirements. In addition, series titles offer a list of selected works and awards, a glossary, and selected reviews fromSchool Library Journal. Unfortunately there are no pictures of the author except on the cover, and although the titles exceed the ubiquitous one-hundred-page length, a requirement for many biography assignments, approximately one-quarter of them are made up of the additional materials. For report purposes, this series is insightful, easy to read, and will help teen readers meet basic requirements, but hand the truly curious Chris Crutcher's King of the Mild Frontier (HarperCollins, 2003/VOYA June 2003) or M. E. Kerr's Me, Me, Me, Me, Me: Not a Novel (Harper and Row, 1983/VOYA June 1983).-Karen Jensen.