Clara Barton: Library Edition (The importance of)

School Library Journal

Gr 6 UpThese biographies provide well-documented, well-organized, and age-appropriate information. The double-column, textbook format and heady prose might intimidate some students, but there are frequent, well-chosen black-and-white photographs and reproductions. The chapters are short and divided into subtopics. Frequent quotations from a variety of primary sources are included; some are within the text, while others are full page. While useful, they do interrupt the flow of the narrative. Chapter footnotes are a further sign of scholarly intent, and both volumes are written in a kind of serious, carefully structured style marked by a rich vocabulary and a wealth of factual material. Beverly Gherman's Georgia O'Keeffe (Atheneum, 1986) has much of the same content, though the pictures are not as well reproduced, and there are fewer quotes from primary sources. Yet Gherman's writing style is more intimate and the format less intimidating. The lack of color in Nicholson's book is disappointing, given the nature of O'Keeffe's work. All in all, two solid additions to a worthwhile series.Phyllis Graves, Creekwood Middle School, Kingwood, TX