With elegant design and mature prose, the Days of Change series is an ideal starting point for all manner of school projects. Most striking is the smart, glossy layout pairing period art and/or photographs with an arrangement of text that uses white space and inset images as the sweeteners to some very advanced concepts. The political pressures at the center of The French Revolution are difficult to dramatize, but Riggs carefully lays out the factions and civil disobedience that led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen d then the emperor's reign that overthrew everything. The books are often stingy on personal details and back matter, but history lessons are rarely laid out so succinctly.

Riggs clearly describes events leading to revolution, the tumultuous years of war, and Napoleon's rise to power. The French Revolution's impact on other European countries is also discussed. Clean design, including many art reproductions and occasional sidebars, makes the information easy to access. Bib., ind.