Martial Arts Legends.

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

These two slim volumes are from the Crabtree Contact series. This series, now numbering over 30, covers subjects that appeal to boys. The subjects range from Alien Abduction to Skateboarding to Zombies on the Loose. These are primarily picture books. The type is large and the text sparse. The sentences are short and the language is not challenging. However, while the content is superficial, it is not childish.

Martial Arts Legends covers just a few of the originators of some styles of martial arts. For example, only one style of karate, Shotokan, is discussed. The book also covers well-known martial arts practitioners, such as Bruce Lee. There are lots of action photographs, giving it high interest for boys.

Stunt Doubles supplies a history of Hollywood stunt doubles and profiles several famous stunt doubles. Many of the photographs show how the stunts are done safely. For example, actors are shown suspended by wires, which, we are told, are later digitally removed for the final production so that it looks like the actors are flying. There is also a spectacular picture of a stuntman on fire.

While the design of the books is substantially the same, there are distinctive details which add interest. Martial Arts Legends has Asian-themed lettering, and Stunt Doubles has many images and headers bordered to look like film.

Both of the books are indexed and contain glossaries, which will make them more useful for school projects. There are also links listed for important websites.

These books would be excellent for reluctant readers at the upper elementary level. They would probably also be useful for English as a Second Language learners. Highly recommended for public and elementary school libraries.