PLAYING IT SAFE: HOME, SUMMER, AND WINTER STREET SMART ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN Barbara and Doug Hall Illustrated by Carl Pickering Willowdale (Ont.), Firefly Books, 1990. 96pp, paper, $8.95 ISBN 0-920668-74-7. CIP Kindergarten to Grade 5/Ages 5 to 10 Reviewed by Donna Doyle. Volume 18 Number 6 1990 November The authors aim to provide street-smart activities for children in an entertaining, educational and fun way. I give them high marks for educational content. It's hard to imagine an aspect of child safety not covered — at home (fire, accidents, medical emergencies), on the street (dealing with strangers, peer pressure, safe routes, safe adults), in sports, both winter and summer, as well as family plans in case a child, gets lost. The reader follows two children as they face one dilemma after another. "Let's Talk" sections provide time for adult/child discussions on how the child would react in each situation. The entertainment and fun provided in this book rate much lower. While the workbook format, with large print and illustrations to colour, mazes, crossword puzzles and tests, allows input from the child, it is a format seldom used in schools since the introduction of whole language. Today's child is used to much more sophisticated reading material and may tune out. Safety is important but it needn't be boring. Seven- to ten-year-olds, for whom the book is also in­tended, would feel cheated or insulted by the traffic lights at the end of each scenario which immediately identify the correct solution. In the hands of a creative teacher or parent, this book could serve as a starting point for street-smart discus­sions. The number of topics covered in this book does not allow for detailed coverage of each. If used as is, it provides a spoon feeding form of learning that underesti­mates the abilities and imaginations of today's five- to ten-year-olds. Donna Doyle, Eastern Counties Regional Library Board, D'Escousse, N.S.