The U.S. Constitution (American Symbols)

Norman Pearl has written 10 children's books. He writes on both science and social studies topics and can't decide which he likes better. Norman lives in tropical Miami, Florida, with his wife and son. They have a small, white, fluffy dog named Max. Max thinks he is human, so the four of them go just about everywhere together. Norman usually writes his books under a palm tree while sipping lemonade. When he needs a break, he jumps in the pool for a swim. Usually, the rest of the family follows him in.

Distilling the U.S. Constitution into 24 pages isn't easy, but this volume in the American Symbols series is so attractive that kids may be drawn in by the pictures and learn something about American history in the process. Colored in deep hues, Skeens' images look so sturdy that they seem to be carved from wood. The text begins with James Madison introducing himself (he never appears again) and presumably asking the question the text poses: "What is the U.S. Constitution?" Each spread offers a few paragraphs of information about the document and its sections, the framers and how they worked together ("there was a lot of arguing"), and a little more about the branches of government. There's oversimplification; it's a shame Pearl didn't list the individual amendments in the Bill of Rights; and snippets of information are embedded in the spreads in type that is easy to miss. Still, the book's good points outweigh its minuses. Several books and Web sites are appended. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved