Smoking Stinks!! (Substance Free Kids Series)

Grade 2-4?This pointed lesson is told as the story of a classroom health report. There's a bit of humor at the outset as Maddie, contemplating her grandfather's terrible cough, blurts out, "Smoking stinks!" Readers will empathize with her embarrassment as the teacher confronts her for her outburst and assigns smoking as the topic for her report. At lunch, she and a classmate discover that they both have health problems made worse by a family member's smoking, so they invite Maddie's grandfather to speak to the class about his habit. Buttner's charcoal sketches, suffused with subdued color, are grainy and robust, but somewhat inconsistent in the age and appearance of the two children. However, both classroom and home scenes are unpretentious and lively. The points made by Grandpa Norman are predictable: "There's NOTHING good about smoking." Endorsements from health professionals fill the jacket and endsheets, adding to the didacticism. The story moves along well, though, and offers readers the chance to speak up about the smoking done around them. Readers will join the class in cheering Grandpa Norman as he throws away his cigarettes. The classroom scenario should be a comfortable means of introducing discussion on this pressing topic.?Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 2^-3, younger for reading aloud. Maddie can't concentrate in school one day because she is so frustrated and worried about her grandfather's smoking. He keeps her up at night coughing, and the smoke aggravates her allergies. Later, while working on her report for health class, she asks her grandfather to tell her about why he smokes. He explains the addictive powers of nicotine and describes the diseases smokers get. Yes, it is didactic, but Maddie's concerns ring true, and the author gives the right amount of information to make her point without overburdening the story. Artist Thom Buttner draws people with highly expressive faces, and the illustrations, on textured paper, are several notches above the norm for a book so clearly intended to present a message. Susan Dove Lempke