Tattoos, Body Piercings, and Art

Recognizing the information avalanche that society faces, this series, with six subsets covering topics from current issues to teenage problems, provides a researcher with a general understanding of a topic. A thumbnail reference opens each volume. An overview provides context for subsequent chapters which concern definition, cause, cure and/or prevention, and combine medical language, personal stories, and common comparisons to explain the disease. These explanation chapters include lists of out-of-context quotations that represent a variety of opinions, and each speaker’s credentials are included. Colorful graphs illustrate statistical information. Some listed “facts” could be considered inferences rather than checkable reports. Extensive print and non-print sources listed at the back of the book, as well as contact information for “Related Organizations,” and lists of outstanding experts in the field provide ample follow-up sources. Breast Cancer suggests a healthy lifestyle but concludes that everyone is vulnerable. Concussions campaigns for a more serious consideration of the injury. Sexually Transmitted Diseases maintains that the best defense against infection is lifestyle. Complex structure, technical language, sophisticated graphics, and extensive references make these volumes challenging reads even though the objective is to simplify. The lexile scores range from 1280 to 1310. The suggestions of websites and organizations to contact make more recent research available. The danger lies in using the volumes to cherry-pick shortcuts rather than as springboards, but both students and adults will find the series to be a useful resource.

The series provides quality, balanced, and accessible information on a very high interest topic. Each title discusses the topic from an historical and/or cultural context as well as discussing the practices from psychological and personal health points of view. The books include photos as well as many personal stories which personalize the factual information. The books are not didactic which students will appreciate, but provide pros and cons. The writing is conversational though the content and vocabulary makes it a high school selection. Titles include a further reading section, making them good for research as well as interest reading. For schools with “i-search” projects, this will be a great addition. Index.

Gr 8 Up–These books are well written, well researched, and engaging. Reluctant readers will be drawn in by the snappy, funny sidebars and clear photos, which are gorgeous and, at times, gory. Some students will be intrigued and others will be repulsed by images of flesh-eating diseases. The authors take a largely nonjudgmental tone as they describe the reasons teens and adults permanently alter their bodies. This series is nothing if not surprising and refreshing, with each page packed with information that teens will want to repeat and share. For example, naval piercing became fashionable “as the bikini culture took root in the 1950s.” Health discourages teens from body modification more than the others in the series, but it also makes an argument for the mental-health benefits some experience from body modification. Crammed with facts, anecdotes, and research studies, all of which are referenced, this set explores the complexity of a topic that might seem narrow at first glance.

These books are well written, well researched, and engaging. Reluctant readers will be drawn in by the snappy, funny sidebars and clear photos, which are gorgeous and, at times, gory. Some students will be intrigued and others will be repulsed by images of flesh-eating diseases. The authors take a largely nonjudgmental tone as they describe the reasons teens and adults permanently alter their bodies. This series is nothing if not surprising and refreshing, with each page packed with information that teens will want to repeat and share. For example, naval piercing became fashionable “as the bikini culture took root in the 1950s.” Health discourages teens from body modification more than the others in the series, but it also makes an argument for the mental-health benefits some experience from body modification. Crammed with facts, anecdotes, and research studies, all of which are referenced, this set explores the complexity of a topic that might seem narrow at first glance.