Colonists and Independence Cowboys and the Wild West Wagon Trains and Settlers Gold Rush and Riches

Gr 3—6—These visually appealing titles effectively combine paintings, engravings, primary documents, and photographs with cartoon illustrations. The eye-catching layouts include different font sizes, bold type, and text boxes to highlight different pieces of information. The content is interesting and pithy; the information is presented in a series of double-page topic treatments. The first book covers U.S. history from 1600 to 1800, the second title ranges from the early 1800s to around 1890, Wagon Trains covers much of the same period with a unique focus, and Gold Rush looks at California and its neighboring states starting in 1848, with the discovery of gold and other precious metals. Great resources for reports and good reading for children interested in the specific periods and places.—Samantha Larsen Hastings, Riverton Library, UT