Ocean Pollution: Library Edition (Overview series)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-- Both of these titles are clearly written, highly readable accounts of popular subjects. They are attractive, well organized, and have black-and-white photographs throughout. Some of the photographs are clear and helpful; others, particularly in Drug Trafficking , are murky and add little to the text. The UFO Challenge relates famous UFO sightings and alleged alien encounters. The reports are told in an objective yet interesting style. Possible explanations and theories of governmental coverup of UFO evidence are included. While Rasmussen includes no cases more recent than the mid-1970s, the book would be a good additional purchase where this topic is popular. Drug Trafficking traces in some detail the history and current use of marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. Unusual details about how drugs are processed and smuggled into the United States are included. There is even a chapter on how drug money is laundered. The drug problem is presented in a realistic, although pessimistic, light. This is a good complementary title to Margaret O. Hyde's Drug Wars (Walker, 1990), which is for the same age range but covers some different aspects of the problem and has a slightly more optimistic tone. --Marilyn Long Graham, Jacksonville Public Libraries, FL