Zeiger, Jennifer. Barack Obama.

Zeiger, Jennifer.       Barack Obama.     Scholastic/ Childrens Press   64p $30.00  978-0-531-23050-3       elem/ms      Series: Cornerstones of Freedom (Scholastic/Childrens)      Good       

This pictorial biography of Barack Obama gives a brief history of Obama’s life and has plenty of family photos of him as a child, with side bars showing what was happening in the United States of America with the Civil Rights Movement.  Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.  His father was an African scholar from Kenya.  He had a close relationship with his mother’s parents.  He was a star player on his high-school basketball team, and he went to college in California, eventually transferring to Columbia University in New York City.  After college, Obama became a community organizer and gradually became involved in politics.  He attended Harvard Law School, where he became the editor of the Harvard Law Review.

This is a good introduction to the president for children.  It includes color and black-and-white pictures, fact boxes, a first-hand look box, the influential people in Obama's life, living history facts, a list of resources including web sites, a glossary and an index.      The series, Cornerstone of Freedom, includes 19 titles, and covers famous people in history and historical events.                          --Magna Diaz