THE NEW AMERICANS

This entry, fourth in The American Story series (third chronologically), covers colonization by the English, Dutch, French, and Spanish, as well as the displacement of the Native Americans, brings in the Pilgrims, Puritans, the beginnings of the Triangle Trade, and comments on the shifting patterns of alliances and warfare between Europeans and native peoples. The author, perhaps inevitably, has to jump around to cover such complex subjects in the limited space of (essentially) a picture-book format, but she is aided by the illustrator’s gorgeous maps and illustrations. Also compensating for the lack of narrative flow is the warts-and-all coverage, which puts all cultures on an equal historical footing. As a starting point for research, the quick explanations of many different topics will be useful, and the index and additional back matter will give readers direction in pursuing fuller coverage on a variety of topics. (maps, index) (Nonfiction. 6-10)