From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-In a succinct, approachable manner, each author discusses the disease, its effect on the body, diagnosis, treatment, how it affects young people who either have it or live with someone who does, and looks ahead to potential breakthroughs. Sentences are simple, topic headings are bold and clear, and complex information is smoothly explained. Inset anecdotes, interesting facts, and personal quotes carry the text along briskly, and the tone is crisp yet comforting. The attractive layout features glossy paper with brightly colored illustrations, highlighted sections, and plenty of white space. In Cystic Fibrosis, Monroe finds a fine balance between the disease's essentially incurable nature and realistic optimism on the part of those afflicted. Noteworthy in Breast Cancer are the clear descriptions of the stages of the illness and photos of treatments, which are explanatory but not frightening, as well as helpful ideas to enable the children of patients to remain hopeful and supportive. The glossary is almost unnecessary, since most difficult words are defined contextually. Excellent introductions to the topics.Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature

Cystic fibrosis is a chronic, genetic disease, usually deadly, affecting people worldwide. Opening with the tough facts of this disease, the book nicely and simply describes the pathophysiology, for example, how an abnormal protein causes changes in the mucus of the lungs and pancreas to create life-threatening problems. The diagnosis, management and treatment of the disease are covered, as well as promising gene therapy and drug research. Of value is the emphasis placed on living with cystic fibrosis, making this a useful book for the newly diagnosed child and family. The 64-page book has an attractive layout with special information set out in color for emphasis. Chapters begin with overviews that cover a lot of information in bulleted format, enough to help report writers get organized. Many chapters open with a vignette of real-teen experience, in this case, children talking about their experiences with and worries about cystic fibrosis, and nearly every page contains a picture, At a Glance Facts, Myth vs. Fact, Fast Facts or Did You Know bits of information to support the text. The end-of-chapter questions are thought-provoking. There is a glossary of key words, an index and references that include books, professional organizations and Internet sites. The book references are somewhat dated. This is part of the "Perspectives on Disease and Illness" series. Marilyn S. Woo, M.D., Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at L.A. Children's Hospital served as medical consultant. 2002, LifeMatters/Capstone Press, $23.93. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Elaine Wick AGES: 10 11 12 13 14 15

School Library Journal