Gr 1-4 Four sketches about children who are in situations with adults who could harm them. All are told in a non-threatening manner, but the stories are bland and lack sufficient information for children to read them without adult discussion. Janie breaks her mother's rule about going off with strangers when she goes for a ride with her babysitter and the sitter's boyfriend; Paul takes a forbidden shortcut through a vacant lot, where a man tries to coax him into his van; a stranger tries to pick up Kim and Gina; Terrie and Jeff are almost kidnapped by their divorced father. This is a book about using common sense and gut reactions when in uncomfortable or dangerous circumstances. However, there's no discussion of what could have happened to any of the children, no mention of the tragedies that could have occurred. The word safe appears repeatedly, but there is no discussion of what the children are safe from. The last story is the weakest of the four, as the resolution is simplistic (the father returns the children to their mother when he sees how upset they are). A book that could generate discussion between parent and child, but certainly not a book that children will pick up and read on their own. Trev Jones, ``School Library Journal'' Copyright 1986 Cahners Business Information.
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