Tolerance: Celebrating Differences

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-Graphically well organized, these series titles present simple, persuasive texts broken into easily digestible chunks. The design features good captioning, charts, overviews, discussion questions, appealing photographs of teens, well-placed splashes of color, and highlighted sections. Wandberg's other books within this series make up a significant portion of each list of suggested further readings. Equally useful as both a recruiting and training tool or for individual inquiry, Peer Mediation is a solid addition. It explains that conflict is best abated by finding workable solutions rather than passing judgment and assigning punishment. Readers are encouraged to assess their own skills and follow sample processes. There is some discussion of graduating into mentorship. Tolerance probes ageism, sexism, racism, and heterosexism. In a chapter designed to inquire about the limits of tolerance, hate groups, animal rights, abortion, and weapons in school are explored. Suggestions are included for promoting tolerance at school and ways to strengthen it among younger children. However, a surprising digression occurs in a detailed listing of proper diet for promoting immune system health and the comparisons between physical tolerance and social tolerance are a stretch. Kevin Osborn's Everything You Need to Know about Bias Incidents (Rosen, 1997) offers a more detailed and unified text.-Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.