Food Choices

July 1, 2010
Gr 7–10—-n a conversational tone, Brancato talks about what, how, why, where, and when teens eat. Chapter headings include: "What Kind of Eater Are You?," "What Does Your Body Need?," "The Great Weight Debate," "How Safe Is the Food You Eat?," "School Food," "Eating Out," "Eating around the World," and "The Future of Food." Although the breadth of the topics is wide, the information is superficial, and sometimes opinion is stated as fact. Throughout the text, vignettes and photos give young people's views on food-related issues. These sidebars and pictures break up the text and add immediacy to the presentation but offer little in the way of solid information. Topics that might constitute a volume of their own, such as genetically modified food, are discussed in a paragraph and conclude with sentences like, "Because the idea of fooling around with genes makes a lot of people nervous, developments in this area will probably be gradual." Copious bibliographic notes accompany each chapter.—"Joanne K. Cecere, Monroe-Woodbury High School, Central Valley, NY"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2010
Grades 8-12 From asthma to volunteering, the topics covered in the long-standing It Happened to Me series address a wide spectrum of adolescent concerns. These entries follow the series standard format, which includes a stark, lackluster layout that is further diminished by a weak selection of grainy, poorly reproduced black-and-white photos. The serviceable text is the selling point here, and each titles straightforward language is personalized with numerous heartfelt quotes from teens. Food Choices touches on food obsessions before reaching into wider territory about the origin of food, the specifics of a healthy diet, obesity and hunger, and the hot-button topic of school lunch. A final section includes suggestions for teens to help alleviate global food crises (number one: eat less meat), while details about international delicacies, such as flamingo tongues and deep-fried insects, will draw readers into the material. With extensive chapter notes and resource lists, these titles offer reliable starting places for personal or academic research.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)