The 12 Most Amazing American Inventions

April 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Amazing America indeed! From Paul Revere to Paul Bunyan, from Yorktown to New York City-all are here in this treasure trove of Americana. The books are divided into spreads, each with a few illustrations and lines of text. Every aspect of the layout is designed with burgeoning readers in mind-clean lines and shapes, sans serif fonts, and a subdued palette of blue and orange. The writing is informative and, like the layout, plain and unaffected. Sidebars feature statistics and thumbnail bios. Yet given the name of the series, the inclusion of World War II battles that took place in Europe seems slightly incongruous. VERDICT Overall, this unique series is attractive and informative-a sound purchase.

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
Grades 3-6 The Amazing America series introduces readers to interesting people, events, and symbols that relate to the U.S. Each book focuses on 12 particular items. American Inventions contains some expected discoveries, like the light bulb and airplane, but Kevlar, computers, and blue jeans are also covered. Each of the books' 12 subjects gets a few paragraphs of text and several sidebars. Illustration captions add a few more snippets of information. Fact sheets, glossaries, and further instructional material round out the treatment. There's not enough information here for reports; rather, this is a quick intro to familiar names on the American landscape.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)