%% This is a multi-book review: SEE also the title Let's Talk about Drug Abuse. %% Gr. 14. Books in the Let's Talk Library series, which vary in quality, tackle complicated, sometimes painful situations children may confront. Some volumes deal with topics related to personality (shyness, fear), but most consider problems that crop up in modern-day life. In Drug Abuse categories of drugs are clearly explained, with information on why people may take the drugs and their effect on the body. The book about Alzheimer's describes the changes someone might expect to see in an older relative as the disease progresses, and emphasizes the importance of continuing to be loving even though the person seems so different. Bold typeface and pronunciations for longer words will help experienced readers use the books on their own, but the necessary use of such difficult words as barbiturates will make the books too challenging for younger readers. Glossary. (Reviewed March 1, 1997)

PreS-Gr 3--The emphasis of this very simple explanation is to reassure young children that a grandparent with AD, despite changes in behavior, is still the same person. After a brief presentation of causes and symptoms, advice is given on how to deal with stresses within the family--preoccupation of parents, the grandparent moving in, or nursing-home placement. Each section is two pages long, with one page devoted to a full-color photograph showing older people, sometimes with children. Unfortunately, many of the pictures are dark and/or fuzzy. The conversational style text is in an easy-to-read large print. This book used in conjunction with picture books such as Mary Bahr's The Memory Box (Albert Whitman, 1992) or Vaunda Micheaux Nelson's Always Gramma (Putnam, 1988; o.p.) can help a parent explain Alzheimer's Disease.--Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NY