SUZY CAPOZZI is a children's book editor and writer. She lives in the Hudson Valley in New York State.

NICOLE TADGELL has illustrated over twenty books. Her work has been honored with the Children's Africana Book Award, the Américas Award, the Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award, and the Growing Good Kids Book Award. Visit her on the Web at nicoletadgell.blogspot.com.

This Step 4 leveled reader about Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Prize-winning activist for racial equality in South Africa, is as spellbinding a biography as you can find. His journey from student to revolutionary to inmate to president of South Africa will inspire and engage kids of all ages.

As conversations about race, prejudice, and injustice pervade classrooms and homes, teachers and parents need books that can bring those discussions within the grasp of kids. Nelson Mandela's story, told honestly and accessibly, is just such a book. The subjects of apartheid and racism are handled with aplomb, and readers will find much to discuss with their classmates, friends, and families.

Step 4 Readers use challenging vocabulary and short paragraphs to tell exciting stories. For newly independent readers who read simple sentences with confidence.