Places in Time
(by Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley/illus. by Ran, Houghton Mifflin $15 Score:) This "atlas of American History" shows 20 different historic sites capturing the highlights of those moments in history. Visit the Pilgrims in New Plymouth, Saratoga during the Revolution, Philadelphia during the Constitutional Convention, and other significant places through the first half of the 20th century.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Sailing Home
(by Gloria & Ted Rand, North-South $15.95 Score:) What would it be like to go to school, eat dinner, play tag aboard a four-masted sailing ship? Based on a journal kept by a sea captain and his daughter, who did all that and more from1896-1910, this is a charming picture book for young history buffs in the making. It may also inspire young journal keepers to see their current adventures as something that might give future generations a glimpse of the early 21st Century. Subtitled, A Story of a Childhood at Sea, the Rands have created a seamless blend of adventure, child-centered information and handsome art that brings an unusual true story to life. 6-9.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Don't Know Much About the Fifty States
(by Kenneth Davis, $15.95 Score:) State by state with colorful illustrations young readers will find trivia about our country. Just about enough for reports in the early grades. 6–9. Also top rated: The Completely Amazing Slightly Outrageous State Quarters Atlas (by editors of Klutz $14.95 ) This book uses the same format but also has a built-in holder for collecting the state quarters to be released every ten weeks into the year of 2008. 8 & up.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Angel on the Square
(by Gloria Whelan, HarperCollins $15.95 Score:) , HarperCollins $15.95 ) Set in czarist Russia before and during the revolution, this is a rich blend of fiction and history, with a cast of characters whose lives touch both the czar's family and those who seek change. 8 & up.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Dear America Series
(various, Scholastic $10.95 Score:) This series of historic journals holds great appeal to intermediate grade readers, many of whom keep their own journals. Written by both girls and boys, they capture details of everyday life in another time while reflecting major historic events. Our favorites for 2002: Seeds of Hope, A Gold Rush Diary; Five Smooth Stones, a family torn apart during the Revolutionary War by their differing allegiances; and The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy and the Trail of Tears. 9 & up.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Knights & Battles
(by Richard Tames, Silver Dolphin Books $14.95 Score:) For young readers who are ready to dip into the world of Knights and the Middle Ages, this is an interactive book with little nuggets of information in an interesting format. There are timelines, costume wheels, flaps and acetate pages with building facades that open to reveal the inside of a castle, cathedral, and timbered town houses. Has a useful glossary of terms with clear definitions. This won't replace an encyclopedia for serious school reports, but it makes a good place to start, especially after an early trip to a museum or for budding interests in the age of chivalry. One of the Discovery Plus series designed for 8 & up.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Champion: The Story of Muhammad Ali
(Jim Haskins/ill By Eric Velasquez, Walker Books $17.95 Score:) Starting with his childhood and following his rise to fame and the downturns along the way, this young people's biography does not sugar-coat the tough times as well as the triumphs in Ali's career. Haskins gets into the spiritual as well as political side of the Ali, who became more than an athlete- a larger than life icon and role model for young black men and women. 6-10.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2003.

The Village That Vanished
(by Ann Grifalconi/illus. by Kadir Nelson, Dial $16.99 Score:) Slavers are coming to capture the villagers of Yao. Abikamile's mother prays to the ancestors to save them. But it is an old woman in the village and Abikamile, a girl, who have the courage to save the tribe. Handsome illustrations match a powerful story.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2003.

Earth From Above
(by Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Robert Burleigh, Abrams Books $12.95 Score:)

One of the most visually exquisite books we've seen in the last ten years. There is not one cliché in this superb collection of photos taken from sky to earth! Short but informative sidebars add to the viewer's understanding of people, places, and things seen through the camera's eye. This sounds like a "space" book, but it is very much a down to earth look at our planet and its inhabitants as seen from above. Stunning! 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2003. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

The Emperor's Silent Army
(by Jane O'Connor, Viking $17.99 Score:) A handsome introductory book about the remarkable army of terra-cotta warriors found by two farmers in X'ian in 1974. Since that time the pits have become a must-see tourist site and the archeological dig continues. This story not only deals with the discovery, but gives young readers a small history of the emperor who is still buried in that tomb. 8–12.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2003.