Conflict Resolution Smarts

April 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-These visually appealing titles aim to help teens get smart about potential life pitfalls. The practical information contains helpful advice. For example, Job discusses the whys, hows, and whens of employment, and Scheduling walks readers through establishing time-management methods. The prevalence of technology in modern society is emphasized in the text and its distractions are frequently warned about. All in all, this series has some useful information, but the layout is weak. The font size is very small, which makes for some difficult reading, and key summary sentences are presented in tiny, colored cursive font. USA Today articles are included throughout the titles in sidebars, but they come across as contrived marketing ploys-the topics do relate, but some are rather dated (a 1999 article in Budgeting, a 2002 article in Job) or poorly edited.

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
Grades 8-12 This accessible, interactive title in the USA Today Teen Wise Guides series will draw readers with its close look at conflicts. An excellent choice for group discussion, this will also appeal to individual readers, who will recognize themselves, whether they are bully, victim, or bystander, in the contemporary scenarios at the dinner table, at school, at work, and online. Using sports as a model ( Try to work as a team ), the author shows that not all competition is bad. He also suggests basic strategies about how to deal with conflict; how to talk it out (listen, avoid the blame game, say I instead of you); and how to disagree without the conflict exploding into a huge lose-lose situation. The occasional articles from USA Today expand on the issues with accessible advice and more hands-on examples.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)