School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-4-This subset falls short. Choppy sentences in long paragraphs are accompanied by large, color photographs. "The Big Truth!" sections in the center of each volume have full-spread photos with text boxes containing facts and/or advice (e.g., "Having fun? Great! But don't chew with your mouth open.") Each volume has an absurdly short and arbitrary time line: for example, the one in Manners starts with Emily Post's etiquette guide as one of four important events named, but the politeness professional herself is never mentioned in the text. It also includes the launch of Facebook (mentioned once in the text as a place where gossip may be spread), but gives no additional information as to its relevance. Simplistic true-or-false questions are answered on the "True Statistics" page, which gives no sources for its figures. While two volumes are devoted to bullying, Smart Choices crams in many topics, including nutrition, exercise, drugs, alcohol, stress, etc. All of the topics addressed in here are better covered in extant series. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.