Indelible Images
Newly adapted from a bestseller for adults, Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima by James Bradley with Ron Powers, adapted by Michael French, focuses on one of the most famous of war photographs: the image of six marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. Bradley, son of one of those marines, investigates the lives (and deaths) of the six, closely examining their experiences to detail the brutal battle on the island, the contrast between the sense of victory projected by the photograph and the more ambiguous circumstances behind it, and the bond-raising value of the photo (and of its surviving subjects) to the Treasury Department. A photo insert adds to the immediacy of this memorable work. (Delacorte, $15.95 192p ages 12-up ISBN 0-385-72932-4; May)
Bubblegum Friends Stick Together
Popularized by the American Greetings card series, the Bubblegum characters with their big round faces, floppy hair and disco diva style expand their horizons with two new books: Best Friends and Groovy Grad . Essentially 32-page greeting cards for a close pal or a new graduate, the volumes expound on the many fine qualities of the book's recipient in four-line rhymes on every spread. (S&S/Little Simon, $7.99 each 32p ages 8-up ISBN 0-689-84429-8; -84430-1; Apr.)
