Body Language

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5This book conveys the importance of body language as one way that people communicate with one another. It includes a variety of gestures used around the world, from Japanese bowing to Polynesians rubbing noses. The author also introduces involuntary gestures such as blushing, the use of universally understood hand and arm signals, and stories that can be told through dance. Unfortunately, some of the captions for the cartoon illustrations present confusing generalizations. One, for example, says that "Dark colored clothes...make the person who is wearing them look important and official. Light clothes, on the other hand, make people feel that they can talk to you." Another is exaggerated: "Folded arms, hunched shoulders, and crossed legs provide a barrier between you and the other personrather like building up battlements in a war." The caption for the photo of the Three Wise Monkeys who hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil is in the wrong order. Wait for something more carefully done on this topic and skip this one.Katherine Borchert, Arlington Central Library, VA