Nefertiti

Nefertiti was, and still is, known for her incredible beauty, but she was also a powerful ruler, as is revealed in this history from the True Book: Queens and Princesses series (4 titles). Parker does an excellent job of providing historical context for Nefertiti's rule alongside the controversial ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Arresting photos of period artwork and temples support the text's explanations of the seemingly loving relationship between the royal couple; of their near-equal status; of shifting artistic styles; and, significantly, of Akhenaten's rejection of polytheism for the sole worship of Aten. Parker lays out accepted theories when there is unknown information regarding Nefertiti's life, such as her parentage and her mysterious disappearance from the historical record. Engaging writing amplifies an already fascinating topic, which ends with Nefertiti's family tree and related "True Statistics."

Gr 3--5--These Western-focused, chronological biographies feature clear writing and an abundance of photographs, artifacts, and sidebars to draw readers in and keep them engaged. The authors include interesting facts that will appeal to young people, along with complex representations of the issues these women faced (loneliness, divorce, childbirth, and executions). These books are useful for research and reports as they contain succinct facts, a time line of events, a family tree, an index, a glossary, and recommended titles (most of which are juvenile). However, the books are marred by a distracting use of multicolored words on the opening two pages of each book. They also lack citations or references for quoted material. Images are captioned and credited but are not consistently dated. VERDICT These are realistic biographies for collections in need of additional books about these queens and princesses.