"I keep my toenails short and clean." "I have two eyes." The brief books in this series are intended to encourage pre- and beginning readers to seek more information. The text is easy to read but flat, and the dull design--one or two sentences in large type face a posed photo of a child--won't inspire much enthusiasm for the subjects. There are four other spring 2002 books in this series. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Let's Read about Our Bodies titles: Ears, Eyes, Feet, Mouth.]

Gr 6-8-Slim introductions to perennially in-demand topics. Each book opens with a one-page description of the subject, capturing its drama and significance, followed by a chronological overview offering background information, a summary of events and developments, and analysis. Bodden is objective in her coverage, discussing both sides of the issues that have been raised by historians. All three volumes are attractive with clean layouts. Spreads have text on one page opposite a full-page archival photo or illustration (color or sepia) incorporating a quote, caption, or sidebar. All of the titles include a map and short bibliographies consisting of widely held young adult titles. Although these books are accurate, readable, and filled with high-quality illustrative material that will hold student interest, their coverage is best described as superficial, similar to overviews such as Richard Tames's Hiroshima: The Shadow of the Bomb (Heinemann Library, 2006). Researchers will be better served by Barbara Rogasky's Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust (Holiday House, 1988) or James A. Warren's Cold War: The American Crusade Against World Communism, 1945-1991 (HarperCollins, 1996), which offer more comprehensive treatments of these complex subjects. The "Days of Change" titles will serve as additional introductions.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

These brief, heavily illustrated books detail historical events of World War II. The titles make the information easily accessible and interesting. The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki offers a succinct history of the war, the development of the atomic bomb, and the United States' difficult decision to use it. Details of the Pacific war, Japanese attitudes toward defeat, and the dramatic first-person descriptions present the terror of the attack and its aftermath. Black-and-white photographs show the devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the physical horror and disfigurement that the bomb left on its victims. The author concludes by discussing public opinion of the use of the atomic bomb and nuclear warfare's direct connection to the beginning of the Cold War. Sadako Sasaki's story of the creation of the paper cranes, personal narratives, and peace memorials give readers a personal understanding of how the bombing still influences Japan and survivors of the attack and the world in general. Bodden details the grim economic conditions in Germany and throughout the world in the wake of the 1930s Depression in The Holocaust. The German citizens' overwhelming resentment of their government's surrender in World War I, the persistent militarism and nationalism, and the prevalent ethnic unrest provide background to Hitler's rise. A succinct overview of anti-Semitism throughout Europe and a description how Hitler's own hatred of Jews and persuasive leadership help to explain what made the Holocaust possible. Life in the concentration camps and Jewish ghettos, the eventual liberation of the death camps, and the Nuremberg war-crimes trials are vividly described with captioned photos and supported by survivors' first-person quotes. The creation of Israel after the war and famous "righteous gentiles" such as Oskar Schindler and others who aided the Jewish are also mentioned. The books are written in simple language and filled with maps, photographs, and sidebars, making the