Media Meltdown

January 1, 2010
Gr 6-10-The story of a small farmer versus a large developer is an excellent choice for developing media literacy. Mr. Reed of Oasis Developers wants to purchase Jagroops family fruit farm and turn it into another suburban development. When Jagroop and his friends expose Reeds nefarious activities, including setting fire to the familys barn, to the local press, they quickly discover how advertising and media conglomeration affect news stories. The design and layout are colorful and fast paced. The text is well written and paired with useful imagery. The Web site www.mediameltdown.net offers the book as a free download as well as games and educational materials."Lisa Gieskes, CA Johnson Preparatory Academy, Columbia, SC"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 7, 2010
The "Graphic Guide" series stars a rotating multiethnic cast of kids in action-based adventures, with nonfiction content relating to how-to skills and social change. In this volume, Pema, Bounce, and Jagroop set out to expose an unscrupulous land developer and discover that the media's ideas of "truth" can be more flexible than they imagined. Bounce is African American.-Martha Cornog, Philadelphia

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
Grades 3-5 In this fourth Graphic Guide Adventure, Pema, Bounce, and Jagroop take on a greedy land developer who is trying to force Jagroops father into selling their farm. Pemas older sister Nima tries to help them by getting their story onto the local news, since she works at the local television station, but the kids get a firsthand look at how advertising can influence what is shown on the news. They decide to take advantage of the newer media on the Internet to spread their story. Readers will learn valuable information on how media works, and get a good mystery, in this graphic novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)