- Sports is always a hot topic with the male audience, but these books strive for equal coverage of women (where appropriate). Minority players are featured prominently wherever possible.

- Features include m ni-bios on 5-7 players per sport (except for Extreme Sports, which is broken down by sport rather than player), photos, sidebars, fun facts, a glossary, resources.

- Exciting on-site photography and short, punchy text put the reader where the action is.

CURRICULUM STANDARDS: Grades 5-8 Standards for Social Studies

Culture

- Compare similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures meet human needs and concerns.

- Articulate implications of cultural diversity, and cohesion, within and across groups.

Time, Continuity, & Change

- Identify key concepts such as chronology, causality, change, and conflict to explain connections among patterns of historical change and continuity.

- Develop critical sensitivities such as empathy and skepticism regarding attitudes, values, and behaviors of people in different historical contexts.

Individual Development & Identity

- Relate such factors as physical endowment and capabilities, learning motivation, personality, perception and behavior to individual development.

- Identify the influence of perception, attitudes, values, and beliefs on personal identity.

- Identify examples of stereotyping, conformity, and altruism.

Individuals, Groups, & Institutions

- Demonstrate understanding of role and status in describing the interactions of individuals and social groups.

- Analyze group and institutional influences on people, events, and elements of culture.