Most of the volumes in the “A True Books Health” series have the same format. The opening page presents two statements that could be true or false. By carefully reading the book, the true answer will be revealed. It is again repeated on the closing page before the back matter (resources, glossary, index and blurb about the author). This particular group of books relates to a variety of diseases, none of which are simple. In Ebola, readers learn about the disease is and its very deadly outbreak in 2014-2015. The cover illustration should be enough to make one realize that this is a deadly disease. The truth about how the disease spread and its incubation period were not recognized early enough, and the virus eventually spread from small remote villages in Africa to whole countries. By the middle of 2015, more than ten thousand people had died. Eventually stronger measures were taken to quarantine people and to trace contacts. A single page show health care workers in protective clothing and explains how the virus is transmitted. Ebola is a zoonosis, i.e., a disease that can be transmitted from animals to people. The search for the Ebola host has focused recently on bats. While there is no medicine or treatment approved to combat the virus, several companies have been working on effective drugs. There can be periods as long as fifteen years between outbreaks, making it harder for scientists to discover the true host. Also, its 21-day incubation period allows a sick person to infect many people before he or she shows symptoms of the disease. The illustrations are excellent and absolutely appropriate to the text. The large print, readable text and layout on crisp white pages make for an attractive and very interesting book. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot; Ages 7 to 11.
11/01/2015
Gr 4–6—Through well-researched, coherent narratives, this series explores five specific ailments. These conditions vary in terms of how common they are but are all pertinent to modern life. Each book starts with an introduction to a "real" person either indirectly or directly affected by the respective disease or affliction, which makes the subject matter relatable, and then delves more deeply into origins, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, side effects, and treatment. Some of the books are told in part from an outsider's perspective, with the intent of helping others understand the condition; for example, Autism opens with a chapter that describes the thoughts and feelings of the sibling of a child with autism. Each book begins with two statements and asks students to discover which is true and which is false; this feature primes readers to pay attention to details, while captioned color photos help hold that attention and add context. VERDICT Written with an optimistic slant, this educational and realistic approach to medical conditions is appropriate for all nonfiction collections.
