Jane M. Bingham spent most of her adult life teaching college students about childrens literature at Oakland University, collecting and studying childrens books from across history and around the world, and campaigning for better materials for children to read. After she retired from that career, she began writing childrens books of her own. Bingham has since authored several nonfiction books that seek to explain contemporary issues to children, including divorce, the dangers of drug abuse, and the art and culture of civilizations around the world.
In Why Do Families Break Up? Bingham attempts to demystify the process of divorce for middle-school students. The book begins by examining some of the reasons a couple might decide to divorce, then moves on to explain the process of coping and moving on after a family separates. School Library Journal contributor Sharon A. Neal described the book as supportive [and] unbiased and noted, Despite the nature of the topic, the book is hopeful.
Tiananmen Square: June 4, 1989 examines the studentled protest against Chinas Communist rulers that occurred there, in the middle of Beijing, in the spring of 1989. On June 4 the government mobilized the army, including tanks, to disperse the demonstrators, killing several of them in the process. The excellent illustrations and clear narrative, Elizabeth Talbot wrote in School Library Journal, make Tiananmen Square a good introduction to the protest and its aftermath.
Bingham is the author of three installments in the World Art and Culture series, examining India, Africa, and Aboriginal Australia. Each book is brief, only fifty-six pages long, and the texts are straightforward and concise, Gillian Engberg noted in a review of AfricanArt and Culture for Booklist. Despite this brevity, much information is packed into each volume. Bingham opens each book with a chapter about the history of the region, from thousands of years ago to the present day, and follows with chapters about t