Will inspire balanced and thoughtful decision-making in a world where technology is designed to promote impulsivity.
A persuasive argument for disillusioned smartphone users to reject the hype in favor of “friendship, freedom, and fun.”
This young readers’ edition of Haidt’s The Anxious Generation (2024) encourages young people to build a life free from smartphone addiction. Racially diverse fictional characters interact in Cheng’s mini comics, which are embedded within explanatory nonfiction prose. The paragraphs of Haidt and Price’s text are broken up with illustrations, sidebars, and occasional pages that evoke a scrapbook or notebook. The young characters model how smartphones encourage isolation, increase bullying, and take the place of exploring hobbies and cultivating talents. Short quotes from teenagers and people in their 20s that support the book’s message appear in colorful speech bubbles, along with a handful of full-page “Meet a Rebel” interviews with people like 23-year-old Gabriela Nguyen (founder of the Appstinence Movement), who advocates for leaving smartphones behind in favor of building in-person social relationships. The authors include hard-hitting facts, statistics, and arguments that will persuade “rebels” to reject the addictive design models of the “greedy tech wizards.” The book’s design provides plenty of attention-grabbing material, but it’s the research that makes it relevant and convincing, particularly since the authors never blame the users of technology. The “rebel” and “tech wizard” labels may feel hyperbolic, but the book addresses the importance of choosing a better path to support and maintain mental health with conviction.
Will inspire balanced and thoughtful decision-making in a world where technology is designed to promote impulsivity. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9798217111909
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
Occasionally clever—fifth-grade boys will love it.
“There is a lot of nonsense written about the human body,” writes the author, “and this book is no exception.”
Though not quite making good on his promise of “100 percent fact-free chapters,” (he does accurately describe “chondrolaryngoplasty”) Griffiths’ anatomical tour in general steers clear of anything that would be marked as correct on a test. From “Ears can be big or small, depending on their size” to “Capillaries are the larval form of butterflies,” he offers pithy inanities about 68 mostly real body features. Though he closes every entry with “That is all you need to know about…,” he then goes on to regale readers with the news that the epiglottis was named after a Greek philosopher and other “Fun Body Facts.” Similarly, noting that his illustrations “may not be scientifically accurate” (the understatement of the decade), Denton nonetheless provides on nearly every spread profusely labeled, free-association cartoon views of each body part. These are filled out with tiny figures, mechanical apparatus and miscellaneous junk. Though serious young researchers may be disappointed to find the “Private Parts” pages blacked out, a full index follows to provide ready access to any references to poo, pus, farts, drool, “sneeze-powered missiles” and like essentials.
Occasionally clever—fifth-grade boys will love it. (Humor. 10-12)Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-36790-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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Adults may have to force-feed this purposive book to those not yet committed to the important causes outlined here.
"Organic," "sustainable" and "food miles" all appear in the comprehensive glossary of this book, whose simple title and cover photograph imply a basic approach to the international topic of food.
This very political book, biased toward food equity, explains why certain foods are eaten in certain countries and why school lunches are important. They fill various needs, from the teaching of courtesy and table manners in France and Japan to the supply of basic nutrients for Somali children in refugee-camp schools. Efforts to improve children’s eating habits, curb obesity, encourage use of local crops and provide food to students with limited economic resources are discussed. As the book is from Canada, naturally there are some references to that country in many of the comparisons. Though published in a seemingly picture-book format, the text is complex. Most two-page spreads describe school lunchtime in an individual country, with a cartoonish illustration on the left and a large photograph of a typical meal on the right with numbered arrows pointing to particular elements. Lengthy captions are keyed to each number. Small globe images in each spread point out countries, but larger maps and a bibliography would be useful. “The Message to Parents, Teachers and Students” provides project ideas.
Adults may have to force-feed this purposive book to those not yet committed to the important causes outlined here. (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-88995-482-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
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