The Interactive Constitution: Explore the Constitution with Flaps, Wheels, Color-Changing Words, and More!

In cheery infographic-style illustrations and chatty but succinct prose, Miles and Pinilla have boiled down the basics of the U.S. Constitution without shortchanging history or legal tradition. While touch-and-feel approximations of parchment and the like feel a bit young for the recommended age, the rest of the interactive features are fine examples of information engineering, like the Advent calendar–style pull-up flaps that reveal every U.S. president and a key quote, and a preamble “decoder” that translates the Founders’ highfalutin’ prose into everyday speech (“tranquility” becomes “peace”). The final pages, devoted to the Bill of Rights and constitutional amendments, strike a particularly fine balance between brevity and detail. Both history geeks and casual students should easily ratify this one. Ages 8–12. [em](Oct.) [/em]