From School Library Journal ea. vol: tr. from French by Nan Buranelli. 69p. maps. photogs. reprods. glossary. index. (Events of Yesteryear Series). CIP. Silver Burdett. 1987. PLB $14.96. Grade 7-9 These two slim volumes， lav ishly illustrated with full-color， conven tionally realistic pictures， are transla tions of French texts from 1984 and 1985. They bear the stamp of reworked publications. There is a disjuncture be tween headings， text， and pictures which the lengthy， fine-print captions in the margins fail to bridge. The French Revolution lends itself to the overall form of the series， a ten-year time frame with separate headings on each two-page opening. Episodes oc curring during the turbulent years 1789 to 1799 are arranged in sequence. Some readers may be discouraged by the sometimes awkward translation which uses words such as seigneur， knave， or ``the king's toilet'' without explana tion. The book is rich with historical anecdotes and descriptions which may interest those already familiar with the revolutionary period， but the text lacks introductory comment or interpreta tion. The Renaissance confines its cov erage to events occurring between 1450 and 1550. It eschews the conventional viewpoint that the Renaissance means only art and happened only in Italy， but in giving the term its widest application， it loses focus， including far-ranging top ics such as the fall of Constantinople， Cortes in Mexico， witchhunts， Henry VIII， and Martin Luther. This incoher ent text is a poor attempt at integrating social and technological events into his tory. The French Revolution may fill a gap in some libraries， but with many better books on the Renaissance avail able， this one should be avoided. Shir ley Wilton， Ocean County College， Toms River， N.J.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information， Inc. Language Notes Text: English， French (translation) See all Editorial Reviews