Martin Van Buren (Profiles of the Presidents)

From School Library Journal Grade 4-7-Succinct and clear writing makes this an accessible portrait of a lesser-known president. Concepts are explained well. The writing is objective and balances the president's accomplishments with his faults and failures. Almost every page includes a color or black-and-white photograph, drawing, or illustration of Van Buren, his contemporaries, or a scene depicting life at the time, such as the interior of a general store. Steven Ferry's Martin Van Buren (The Child's World, 2001) is similar in scope and design, but Doak's work gives more detail and explores issues a little more deeply. The content of Susan Jankowski's Martin Van Buren (Enslow, 2002) is similar, but the pages are designed to look like Web sites.