Having experienced the 6.8 earthquake that hit the Seattle area on February 28, my son and I were eager to read up on earthquakes. What better place to turn that the True Book series? After all, my older daughter used to eat up the series like bon bons during her summer vacations.

The Sipiera book did not disappoint. It is chock-full of fascinating photos and simple, easy-to-understand text. What really stands out about the True book series is this: much science literature for young children consists of information tidbits. The True Book series caters to the same age group but introduces children to a sustained narrative. I can't help but think this does them far more good than disconnected facts. Also, phonetic pronunciations for unfamiliar words are provided throughout.

My son and I had a great time with this book and I think your children will too, whether or not they've been through an earthquake before.

Since we usually already know the high points in the life and political career of a U.S. President what matters in a juvenile biography like this are the details. In this volume on Gerald Ford for the Encyclopedia of Presidents series, Paul P. Sipiera provides several interesting details of the man who dreamt of becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives but ended up being the only President never to be on the winning ticket of a national election. For example, in both 1960 and 1968 Ford was considered as a possible running mate for Richard Nixon and even in 1973 when Ford was picked to succeed Spiro Agnew as Vice-President he was not Nixon's first choice. Then there is the fact that Betty Ford danced with the Martha Graham troop while Gerald Ford was a model for Look magazine and that when he was first elected to Congress Ford's office was next door to another newcomer, John F. Kennedy.

Sipiera tries to deal with the complexities of Watergate and the other issues that are considered to have cost Ford the 1976 election, but it really seems like he was running out of room at the end. The ordeal Ford went through to become Vice-President is clearly covered and these other, presumably more significant parts, are just not given the same consideration. Nor will young readers get a sense for the high regard Americans had for Betty Ford (remember the "Elect Betty's Husband" buttons?). Of course, it might simply be that I am more familiar with Ford (I cast my first vote for President for him), and I have certainly noticed that as a general rule the less I know about a President (e.g., Millard Fillmore, Calvin Coolidge), the more I am impressed by a particular Encyclopedia of Presidents volume.

This book is illustrated with black & white photographs from Ford's persona life as well as his political career. The back of the book contains a Chronology of American History from when Eric the Red reached Greenland in 982 to the election of George Bush as president in 1988. with the events from Ford's lifetime appearing in a shaded area. Students and teachers looking for more information about Ford can certainly check out his autobiography, "A Time To Heal."

This is a good book for 4th - 6th grade children. I'm a 5th grade teacher (and a big astronomy fan). We have this book at our school. It has some nice pictures and information, but the price is too high compared to other books about the universe that contain better pictures and more information. For example I prefer The Reader's Digest Children's Atlas of the Universe. I've read it. It's a much better book. It has much more information, ideas, etc. I haven't read, but I am thinking of getting the DK Space Encyclopedia. It looks good too. I'd recommend either of these books first.