Customer Reviews

The House That Crack Built

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

We already know that crack is bad for us. Do we really think about how many people are affected by the drug? Who really benefits? The stark reality of the pain caused by crack is depicted in this simple style reminiscent of The House That Jack Built. The book is thought provoking. The sing-song repetition helps the reader see the progression of pain. This is a great book for beginning a discussion on drugs and their effects on society.

i use this book continuously when working with patients with substance abuse. i have found it helps them to think about how our actions effect others... about how buy crack just isn't bad for the addict, but destroys the whole community. i read the other reviews about this book. the ones who are pessimistic, don't seem to be getting the point. the overall theme is taking responsibility for our own actions and considering the possibility of change. it reminds me everytime that i read it, that in some small way, my choices are making a difference.

I was first introduced to The House that Crack Built working at a summer program in the ghetto of North Philadelphia. I instantly saw the interest it sparked in the children and the thought that it provoked in them. To them this book was al to real, as for many drugs is a part of their every day life. However, it showed drug dealing and drug use without the glamour that is often given to it both in the media and in many drug infested areas. Yes it is true that many middle class suburbanites also abuse drugs but the reality of the matter is that such a choice will have more of an impact on somebody from the ghetto that have little to hope for in life as it is.

This is a fascinating book on its own merits, but also because of the challenges it raises regarding its use. Is it a children's book about crack? Yes. Does it glorify or preach? No. Is it corny? No. Does it shock? On some levels. How would you present the issue of drugs to a child? This book attempts to give that answer and it does so admirably.

I'd be hard pressed to recommend it for school usage, but not because I think it's inapproriate but because most schools would (unfortunately). It delivers a message and it does it without turning off its audience.

I would recommend heavily for family and public libraries. I would recommend it to schools if I thought they wouldn't get uptight about acknowledging that their students already know what crack is.

This is a good book to use in a Language Arts Class as a starting point for a writing assignment. It's a great way to get students to think seriously about the subject, recognize social issues and examine a variety of writing styles available to convey their own messages. I hope this book becomes available again, this is definitely a book for the in classroom library.

I use this book as part of a unit on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco for my 6th grade health class. I teach in a suburban school, Grades K-6 where 6th grade students are building on the what they learned in 4th and 5th grade on the topic.
The House That Crack Built provokes student into serious discussion of illegal drug trade, sale, and use. Through these discussions students look at the various people in the book and how the production, distribution and use of crack may affect each of the characters differently. The man who lives in the house, needs round the clock protection from police and predators. He may be wealthy and have control over the town but he must live in isolation and fear. The farmers who would rather grow plants for the people to eat work in the man's fields because of their own desperate circumstances are being forced to grow illegal crops for their own survival. The people in the ghetto have struggled against the illegal drug production and trade as well as the control of the man in the house only to succumb to the crack in an effort to ease the pain they live with on a daily basis.

Perhaps their neighborhood wasn't always a ghetto until the drug trade and the man took hold and threatened the people who objected to it.

Did the girl have any real choices in her town? Did the people who were able to, abandon the town rather than fight the man in the house and help the girl? What about the baby?

I don't see this as a book about "the Ghetto" but rather as a book about society. Rich over poor. Options vs desperation. Choice and consequence. Supportive social policies vs no social policy.

It shows what can happen when people turn a blind eye to what begins as something small yet powerful. It shows the inequities that exist, not only in third world countries and in the ghetto but globally. I would recommend this to anyone! It is well written, dramatically illustrated and very thought provoking!

My mom had this book when I was growing up, and it opened my eyes to drug abuse early on, when i was too young to understand that my father had a drug addiction. I wouldn't be the responsible person i am today without this book.

Indeed, the market is saturated with texts documenting the rise of drug use in this country, subjecting readers to endless charts and statistics. Taylor's wonderfully written book of verse strikes home because of its simplicity. Readers are showm the progression of crack cocaine from the coca field to an inner-city alley. Using simple rhymme scheme, Taylor leaves readers with the message that many people, and therefore every member of the society, are responsible for the inundation this country has felt about the never-ending battle against drugs. Each page has a different watercolored illustration by Jan Thompson Dicks that makes the most of space while using the minimum effort to fill it. His characters, although sometimes twisted into agonizing positions, remain human, and touch the heart in a way that no statistic table can. The House That Crack Built is a wonderful text for children and adults alike, and would make an excellent addition to high school and university sociology and literature classrooms.

Although the format and rhythm of this book are appealing, the common stereotypes used-- again proves to be insulting and defeats the purpose intended. More elements of the drug trafficking system should be included to illustrate the magnitude and hidden agenda behind drug use.

Crack may seem like a funny subject when one is sitting around with their friends in the comfort of a Chinese restraurant. However, Crack is no laughing matter to the people living in the ghetto that use it as often as middle-class folks use water and bread. This book uses an interesting method of secretly transferring knowledge of the Underground society of Crackheads, Crack dealers, and Crack shipping agents to those that need it most - humans. ...