Rating: **** 4 stars

Otto James,
AIDS

Clive Gifford,
Child Labour

Geoff Barker,
Hunger

Clive Gifford,
Poverty

Cath Senker,
Violence

Geoff Barker,
War
(Voices Series)
Evans Brothers, 2009.

NON FICTION

Ages 10-14

A very useful series on modern issues ranging from street gangs and drug dealing to international topics such as child labour and religious extremism. The books are designed to stimulate the kind of debate that takes place in schools in PHSE or citizenship classes, where teachers often bemoan the lack of resource materials. Newspapers designed for adults are not easily accessible to younger readers, while finding appropriate material on the internet can be a time-consuming task. The books here offer different perspectives on a topic, often from more than one viewpoint and always in the form of a question such as ‘Is child labour a new issue?’, ‘Should child soldiers ever exist?’ or ‘Is poverty inevitable?’ The group of 12-year-olds who looked at the books with me particularly liked the first-hand accounts and quotes, especially those from children, and were genuinely shocked by photos such as one in Child Labour showing a four-year-old boy working as a blacksmith in Baghdad. Graphs and charts provide statistics to back up the text, and each title includes a timeline and a glossary as well as a resources page giving booklists and websites. Informative and thought-provoking, the series provides an excellent resource for classroom or library use. Further titles in the series include Drugs on the Street, Gangs, Race Hate, Religious Extremism and Violence on the Screen.

Sue Unstead
January 2010, No. 180

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor