Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Dry but informative text presents the history of, advancements in, and pros and cons surrounding cosmetic surgery. The focus is mostly on elective surgery, but the text does touch on issues such as birth defects and reconstructive surgery. Photographs and sidebars impart additional information, though they tend to crowd the pages. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

ALA Booklist

The Essential Viewpoints series shares some similarities with Gale's Opposing Viewpoints books, but instead of full articles on topics, Essential Viewpoints features a running narrative that incorporates various points of view, while sidebars offer excerpts from specific articles. The design is glossy, with many illustrations, although the photos are often quite generic. In this title, Lusted traces the origins of cosmetic surgery and spends a good deal of time getting readers to think about why some people choose these operations. More specifically, there is a discussion on the pros and cons for teens considering surgery. The series features extensive back matter, including bibliographies, Web sites, and source notes.

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

LUSTED, Marcia Amidon . Cosmetic Surgery . ISBN 9781-60453-530-3 . LC 2008034903. MAGOON, Kekla . Sex Education in Schools . ISBN 978-1-60453-536-5 . LC 2008034917. MARCOVITZ, Hal . Teaching Intelligent Design . ISBN 978-1-60453-537-2 . LC 2008034919. ea vol: 112p. (Essential Viewpoints Series). illus. photos. reprods. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. notes. Web sites. CIP. ABDO/Essential Library . 2009. PLB $32.79. Gr 6-8 In each title, the topic is introduced, background and historical information are provided, and then the debate surrounding the issue is discussed. The opposing viewpoints are intertwined throughout rather than presented as separate chapters. The titles conclude with summaries of salient information, time lines, and sections titled "Essential Facts" and "Source Notes." Thorough sources are included for each chapter. The titles include a few photographs as well as sidebars that highlight additional facts. Geared for middle school students, the books for the most part reach their target audience, although Genetically Modified Foods assumes some knowledge of genetics. Particularly interesting are the chapters titled "The Evolution of Cosmetic Surgery" in Cosmetic Surgery and "Sex Education in U.S. History" in Sex Education in Schools . The titles succeed in providing balanced viewpoints, successfully incorporating historical information with current concerns. Teaching Intelligent Design and Genetically Modified Foods both do a particularly good job placing the controversy in a social, economic, and political context. Visually, the titles are less successful. The marbled-paper borders on each page are old-fashioned, and the white space at the end of some chapters seems to call out for graphics, or at least a tighter layout. Useful for reports. Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY