Let's Talk about Being Afraid

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-Two workaday presentations. The more successful text, Afraid, outlines some common and a few uncommon fears (such as acrophobia) that children have. Fear is defined, bodily reactions are acknowledged, and various fears are categorized and explained. Good fears, such as those that engender caution, are distinguished from worries about imaginary creatures and new experiences. The author presents useful ways to deal with these emotions but most importantly acknowledges that they are normal. Each page is headed with a topic, and a somewhat arbitrary selection of words receives phonetic treatments in the text and again in a glossary. Blended Family points out the many changes children may face when a parent remarries. Two children and their soon-to-be joined families are introduced only to be dropped after two pages. The book points out potential problems for children of blended families-not getting enough time with your birth parent, loss of space, different rules, new siblings with perhaps a new baby, and a new living arrangement-but suggests helpful ways to deal with these challenges. None of the benefits or potential happiness of blended families is mentioned. The full-color photos in Blended Families present people from a variety of racial backgrounds, while Afraid has considerably less diversity. As books to encourage discussion, Kreiner presents a good overview, but Weitzman's book may encourage children who are already uneasy about an impending remarriage to borrow trouble.-Susan Hepler, Alexandria City Public Schools, VA