Extreme Sports

Gr 4–7—These additions to the ever-popular genre focus on human figures participating in activities that will resonate with kids and use drawing techniques much like those in Lee J. Ames's classic "Draw 50…" series (Doubleday). The opening four to six spreads provide background information on sketching, drawing with perspective, art materials, and more. The introductory information is nearly verbatim among volumes with only the illustrations varying according to the topic. The additional 8-to-10 spreads are specific to the theme, each beginning with the armature and advancing to a fully shaded and equipped figure. Soldiers has the most specific pages, offering a chronological sampling of warriors from a minuteman to a fully equipped modern infantryman and nearly all from U.S. history. Fighting Figures adds ancient Greek warriors and Roman gladiators to the expected mix of martial-arts figures. Female figures appear only in Manga Action. A brief glossary includes both art and topic-related words. This testosterone-driven collection will grab young wannabe artists' attention but the amount of detail, common for this level of how-to-draw book, will hold only the most determined to completion.—Carol S. Surges, Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI