Teen Smoking (Compact Research: Current Issues)

Grade 8 Up—This series has a tried-and-true format for providing reliable and up-to-date information for students' reports, debates, or other class projects. After an overview of the issue, chapters posed as questions ("How Can Teen Smoking Be Prevented?" or "How Should the United States Address the Issue of Illegal Immigration?") get thorough and balanced answers incorporating viewpoints from both ends of the pro/con spectrum. The "Primary Source Quotes" and "Facts and Illustrations" sections allow readers to zero in on information that would be particularly helpful in supporting arguments. The attention to citing sources properly also teaches how to research, while the inclusion of "Key People and Advocacy Groups" and "Chronology" sections will point students to sources of further learning. While photo illustrations are sparse, the straightforward presentation of serious subject matter, graphics, and easy access to facts make the books excellent choices for reports and debates.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library
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The Current Issues subset of the Compact Research series presents different points of view on topics students may be researching for papers or debates. Brightened with colorful graphics and charts as well as the occasional photo, each volume opens with a broad overview followed by four chapters and sections of related quotes and statistics. Teen Smoking considers the causes, effects, prevention, and regulation of young smokers in our society. Back matter in each book includes a chronology, annotated lists of “Related Organizations” and “Key People and Advocacy Groups,” and bibliographies of books, periodicals, reports, films, and Internet sources. The books’ “Primary Source Quotes” sections, which define the term primary source rather broadly, offer quotes out of context (and sometimes with ellipses or bracketed additions) and identify their sources. Each volume’s cover uses the same design and photos. Although the books’ reading level is higher than the colorful, accessible format suggests, students may find the books more usable than the densely packed essays in comparable series. Grades 9-12. --Carolyn Phelan