I ordered this online from the library and when I went to pick it up I felt like a tit.
Why Do People Join Gangs? is a very slim kid's book with a "first reader" jacket design, all crayony colorful. If you're color blind, well, you'd still understand what you were looking at, but the author's blurb on the back would be the clincher: "Julie Johnson is an educational consultant who specializes in 'tough issues.' She enjoys writing about issues that interest young readers." ...So what's my issue with this? Well I have issues with condescension. The issues (sorry, I'll stop now) get worse inside with obviously posed pictures of kids fighting, bullying, stealing etc. This book is aimed at preteen kids, probably about 11-12 year olds, but no kid that age I've ever known would take it seriously. There's also a few questionable lines by Johnson here and there that expose the underlying "don't join gangs" theme. I think with topics like this you don't need to guide the reader. Doing so often repulses them. Lay down the facts and let them speak for themselves. When
Why Do People Join Gangs? tells it straight it excels.
