Keeping Safe

Children's Literature - Wendy M. Smith-D'Arezzo

Stargazer has published a series of books on topics of interest to young children; this book deals with safety. Its' design, font, illustrations, and page layout are calculated to appeal to children ages six to nine, although the text is more sophisticated than that. The vocabulary is above most second graders' reading level (e.g., "prescribed," "situations," "isolated"), but the sentence structure is simplistic and redundant. This makes the book difficult for a young child to read on his/her own. The content of this book is appropriate for most first and second grade children. It deals primarily with keeping children safe from other people, such as bullies, sexual predators, and Internet opportunists, as well as helping children to make the right decisions about where to play, what to communicate to parents and how to deal with certain situations. Much of this is excellent information that can and should be shared with children. This book could be used as part of a safety unit in a primary classroom or as a sharing time with a parent.