Anne Frank

Reviewed with Leslie Garrett's Helen Keller0 . Gr. 5-10. Most of the famous people in the new DK Biography series have been well covered in books, films, and plays, and their autobiographies have remained international best-sellers. That said, these attractive books are, nonetheless, highly readable, worthwhile overviews for young people that introduce both personal and wider background and historical issues. For Anne Frank,0 Sawyer drew extensively on several sources, including the Diary0 in its various versions and accounts by Anne's father and their rescuer Miep Gies. Her clear history makes this a good place to start research. Less has been written about Keller, so many readers will find Garrett's book a fascinating first look at the amazing woman, blind and deaf since childhood, who, helped by a devoted teacher, learned to read and speak and traveled the world as an inspiring public speaker and political activist. The publisher's familiar illustration-rich page design works well in the smaller format of this series, and the smooth narratives are broken up on every page with boxed facts and quotes as well as well-chosen, small color photos. For other titles in the series, see the Series Roundup in this issue. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist

Well-rounded biographies of four twentieth-century notables are hampered by an occasional glibness of tone (e.g., a discussion of overcrowded hospitals in Kennedy includes the phrase ""you do the math""). Nearly every page contains a photo or a reproduction, increasing the books' accessibility, although the pages are a bit crowded due to the small trim size. Each book features an illustrated timeline. Websites. Bib., ind. [Review covers these DK Biography titles: Helen Keller, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Anne Frank.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.