Asthma

Gr 4-6-Through well-researched, coherent narratives, this series explores five specific ailments. These conditions vary in terms of how common they are but are all pertinent to modern life. Each book starts with an introduction to a "real" person either indirectly or directly affected by the respective disease or affliction, which makes the subject matter relatable, and then delves more deeply into origins, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, side effects, and treatment. Some of the books are told in part from an outsider's perspective, with the intent of helping others understand the condition; for example, Autism opens with a chapter that describes the thoughts and feelings of the sibling of a child with autism. Each book begins with two statements and asks students to discover which is true and which is false; this feature primes readers to pay attention to details, while captioned color photos help hold that attention and add context. VERDICT Written with an optimistic slant, this educational and realistic approach to medical conditions is appropriate for all nonfiction collections. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.