The leading trade publication for school librarians, School Library Journal, gave Wil’s new ‘Global Citizens: Modern Media’ series, from Cherry Lake Publishing, a fantastic review—
(For Grades 6–8) From how we watch television to what we buy to how we feel about our bodies, visual and print media plays a huge role. Concise writing and bold graphics dig into the history, civics, and economics of each topic. Advancing technologies and how they have affected our media habits are also looked at. Readers are encouraged to think critically and develop their own opinions, a feature supported by both the sidebars peppered throughout and the information in the back matter. The “Developing Questions,” “Gathering Evidence and Evaluating Sources,” “Developing Claims and Using Evidence,” “Taking Informed Action,” and “Communicating Conclusions” sections are meant to maximize student engagement with the content in a productive manner. VERDICT With uses in the curriculum or for pleasure reading, this thought-provoking look at media takes a unique, academic focus and will benefit most collections.