Teens in Australia

April 1, 2007
Gr 7 Up-These titles depict the culture, customs, and challenges of adolescents in various countries. Each book covers schooling, family structure, holidays, work, and leisure activities. Information on traditions, food, and famous citizens is also included. Sensitive issues such as crime in Brazil's tenement slums and the abandonment of baby girls in China are touched on but not examined in depth. The books conclude with "At a Glance," a report-ready snapshot of the country's statistics, government, geography, and economy; a historical time line; and a brief but useful glossary. Full-color photos, maps, and charts enliven every page, though photographs are not always cued to the text. Likewise, captions are occasionally so vague as to be extraneous ("Some of the most popular books among Australian teens are fantasies, action/adventures, and mysteries"). Organizational issues plague these volumes. For example, a sidebar on Australian currency does not explain why the Queen of England appears on the five-dollar bill, though an explanation appears many pages later in a chapter on holidays. A passage about a 14-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro mentions that she lives in a "favela" but the term is not defined until the following chapter. Despite much worthwhile content and surefire connections to social-studies and foreign-language curricula, these "age-specific" books take a style-over-substance approach. Look instead to the "]in Pictures" series (Lerner) or "Modern World Nations" (Chelsea House), which do not focus on teens, but cover much of the same information."Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA"

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