The What If We Do Nothing? series gives hot-button topics an air of urgency by imagining the kind of catastrophes that could occur if problems such as water shortages, obesity epidemics, and poverty continue to go unchecked. Using intelligent, focused text; an open design; vivid photos; and excellent maps, each book demands attention. Overcrowded World imagines a future of famine, homelessness, and riots, and will wow readers with such amazing photos as a massive water well in India and an appalling shantytown in the Philippines. Interspersed with thought-provoking "What Would You Do?" challenges and capped with a glossary and index, each title provides a forceful entry into some terribly thorny spaces.

GORMAN, Jacqueline Laks . Fossil Fuels . maps. ISBN 978-1-4339-0087-7 . LC 2008029214. MCLEISH, Ewan . Overcrowded World . maps. ISBN 978-1-4339-0088-4 . LC 20080292182. SHEEHAN, Sean . Endangered Species . ISBN 978-1-4339-0086-0 . LC 2008029167. ea vol: 48p. (What If We Do Nothing? Series). charts. photos. further reading. glossary. index. notes. Web sites. CIP. Gareth Stevens . 2009. PLB $31. Gr 5-8 Each of these books examines a potential crisis, its historical causes, scientific background, and possible outcome if no action is taken. AIDS discusses the possibility of worldwide pandemics of influenza and other infectious diseases such as SARS, malaria, and meningitis. In discussing the prevention of AIDS, the author mentions abstinence and safe sex without explanation, while the case of Ryan White, who contracted the disease from a transfusion as a child, is given thorough coverage. Fuels makes the connection between climate change and the use of polluting energy sources, and the Kyoto Protocol's plans for the reduction of globe-warming emissions are considered. Overcrowded World cites many problems such as shortages of water, food, and housing; degradation of natural environments; and poverty. Family planning is mentioned only in passing while the consequences of high birth rates are more thoroughly discussed. Endangered Species , divided into sections by habitat, discusses declining and threatened animal, plant, and insect life due to global warming, habitat extinction, and overhunting and fishing. Each volume presents several potential scenarios for the year 2025 and a sidebar asks readers what they would do to solve or alleviate the urgent situations of the time, questions that could be used to spark class discussions. Full-color photographs, charts, and maps help illustrate some of the ideas and problems. Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY