THE GRISTMILL Bobbie Kalman Mississauga (Ont.), Crabtree Publishing, 1990. 32pp, cloth, ISBN 0-86505-486-X (cloth) $19.95, ISBN 0-86505-506-8 (paper) $9.95 Historic Communities series. CIP HOMECRAFTS Bobbie Kalman Mississauga (Ont.), Crabtree Publishing, 1990. 32pp, cloth, ISBN 0-86505-507-6 (cloth) $19.95, ISBN 0-86505-487-8 (paper) $9.95 Historic Communities series. CIP THE KITCHEN Bobbie Kalman Mississauga (Ont.), Crabtree Publishing, 1990. 32pp, cloth, ISBN 0-86505-484-3 (cloth) $19.95, ISBN 0-86505-504-1 (paper) $9.95 Historic Communities series. CIP VISITING A VILLAGE Bobbie Kalman Mississauga (Ont.), Crabtree Publishing, 1990. 32pp, cloth, ISBN 0-86505-487-S (cloth) $19.95, ISBN 0-86505-507-6 (paper) $9.95 Historic Communities series. CIP Grades 2 to 4/Ages 7 to 9 Reviewed by Charles Ottosen. Volume 19 Number 5 1991 October Bobbie Kalman is well known for her children's books on various topics but especially for her history books. Her "Early Settler Life" series is very popular with children, teachers and librarians. The "Historic Communities" series takes the same popular topic (pioneer life) but applies it to a younger audi­ence. Aimed at seven-to nine-year-olds who know how to read, the books show with words and pictures what life was like in a pioneer village. Kalman has been successful in taking a non-biased approach to her topics. For example, in the Village book she notes that the word "pioneer" refers to Europeans who were new to the continent as opposed to the Indians or native people who lived here for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. The books are also "generic" in that they can be applied to pioneer settlements in both Canada and the United States. Each book is laid out simply and logically. They start with an overview, get into the details, and then end with some simple dosing remarks or ques­tions to get the children talking about what they have just read in the book. Also included are good tables of contents and indexes to help find your way around. An added bonus are the glossaries explaining the terms used in each book. The author has provided plenty of good illustrations in the books. Photo­graphs taken at various outdoor museums and historical villages (such as Upper Canada Village) are the main illustrations. But she has also used simple diagrams to show how a grist­mill works to grind flour. This series is obviously meant to complement the "Early Settler Life" series, as there appears to be very little overlap between the two. Children will find the books both useful for school and just fun to look at. Recommended for elementary school and public libraries. Charles Ottosen, Airdrie Public Library, Airdrie, Alta.