Hereditary Diseases

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-These slim volumes are packed with useful, logically arranged information. In Communicable Diseases, Harris begins with scenarios of persons contracting several illnesses, including AIDS. In her examples, a teenage boy has contracted AIDS through unprotected sex, another gets strep throat from kissing, a third gets malaria from a mosquito bite. A brief overview of the immune system follows, giving readers a basic understanding of how it works, but without the detail found in Alan Nourse's Your Immune System (Watts, 1983). Subsequent chapters on bacterial infections, viruses, fungus and parasite-caused diseases, and current research complete the text. A wide variety of individual diseases are grouped by method of transmission, and offer a basic outline of the symptoms and consequences of each one. Hereditary Diseases follows a similar pattern, with background on chromosomes, their makeup, defects, external factors, and research in genetic engineering. Drugs and Disease is a book on drug abuse. An introductory chapter on how drugs interact with the body is followed by sections on stimulants and psychedelic drugs, depressants, PCP, and marijuana, with some concluding words on rehabilitation. Case studies are presented in all three books, and a wealth of supplementary information is presented in charts, diagrams, and fact sheets. Good-quality photos, both in color and black and white, complement the text, though it is apparent that some of them are staged, and their subjects are predominantly caucasian. Print is large, with plenty of white space, which will appeal to reluctant readers.-Denise L. Moll, Lone Pine Elementary School, West Bloomfield, MI