Child Abuse: Library Edition (Overview series)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-According to Ito, the widespread incidence of child abuse is an indication that our society is in grave danger. He presents an overview of the procedures for reporting and investigating abuse cases and lists options available to the courts for punishment. The author provides a thoughtful evaluation of media coverage of these cases, and analyzes the pros and cons of child prosecution witnesses. He also discusses court efforts to protect young witnesses from trauma, while upholding defendants' rights to confront their accusers. Aside from a tendency to close each chapter with a paragraph of non-essential generalities, this is a well-written, easy-to-understand effort. Average-to-poor quality black-and-white photos are to the point without being too frightening. The author's style is more sophisticated than Margaret Hyde's in Know about Abuse (Walker 1992); Edward Dolan's Child Abuse (Watts, 1992) is directed to somewhat older readers and includes a section on child pornography.-Libby K. White, Schenectady County Public Library, NY