The power of the one-two punch

Book Moot's review of Deborah Hopkinson's Sky Boys last week got me thinking, especially this part:

This is a lovely and informative book. James Ransome's illustrations are warm and inviting. I think this book is more easily shared as a read-aloud than Elizabeth Mann's excellent Empire State Building which was a Bluebonnet nominee this year.

She's right -- for the picture-book crowd, Hopkinson's book is a better introduction to the Empire State Building. But if a young reader is captivated by Sky Boys, it's a good idea to have Mann's intricately detailed and illustrated book at the ready to build on that interest.

Then, over the weekend, A Fuse #8 Production gave a glowing review to Cesar - Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! while also paying tribute to Kathleen Krull's version of Cesar Chavez's story:

Beautiful to look [at and] beautiful to read, this is a perfect complement to Harvesting Hope and a wonderful book in its own right as well.

These reviews brought to mind other nonfiction pairings that can make the most of any sparks set off by a reader's initial exposure to a topic:

• Sherry Garland's lyrical Voices of the Alamo can set the stage for Jim Murphy's gripping Inside the Alamo.
• Kay Winters' Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books can lead to Russell Freedman's Lincoln: A Photobiography.
• And Spirit of Endurance: The True Story of the Shackleton Expedition to the Antarctic, by Jennifer Armstrong, can naturally be followed by Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance -- also by Armstrong.

That's just for starters, but I'm sure there are more. What one-two nonfiction punches can you recommend?