School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-6 Newman offers valid information, and her advice is usually appropriate in this revision of her 1971 booklet ``Ice Cream Isn't Always Good.'' Unfortunately she presents the information in emotional and didactic stories. An omniscient narrator relates ten possible encounters children may have with strangers. Hillary is kidnapped by a ``mean man''; a woman stranger comes to take Amy home from school. Each story is resolved fortuitously by the child, and advice follows. The final chapters give more tips on how to become stranger-wise. Unlike the child-narrated stories in Terkel and Rench's Feeling Safe Feeling Strong (Lerner, 1984), these stories teach rather than inform, and the author occasionally uses loaded words like ``evil-minded adults'' or ``sneaky strangers.'' In one of the stories, young David has ``a funny feeling'' about a man he recognizes as a family friend. The point of the story is to trust your instincts, but the man's actions do not warrant a frightened reaction. Fearful are the consequences of making all adults seem sinister. When Newman wrote her booklet there was nothing like it, but now better choices are available. Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.