From School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up--Police provides an excellent and realistic overview of situations teens might face. Specific areas of discussion look at how law enforcement operates, traffic tickets, police harassment, ethics, police and community cooperative projects, being searched, teens' rights, dialing 911, and dealing with confrontations. Parker discusses life in a shelter and the associated problems: coping with embarrassment, shame, anger, fear, and frustration; ways to take personal control; getting an education, developing talents/abilities, and learning from experience; and getting help from others. The final chapter addresses changes in society that would facilitate improvements in the homelessness problem. In both books, information is presented in a clear, straightforward manner with fictionalized incidents/experiences used to illustrate points of emphasis. These titles are supportive, quick reads and are especially useful for filling the hi/lo vocabulary gap. Several black-and-white and full-color posed photographs accentuate textual issues. Good companions to Paul Almonte and Theresa Desmond's Police, People and Power (Crestwood, 1992), Karen O'Connor's Homeless Children (Lucent, 1989), and Lois Stavsky's The Place I Call Home (Shapolsky, 1990).
Celia A. Huffman, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland
Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
