Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems
Childhood angst tends to torment parents as well as children and  can erupt into the tragedy of school shootings. These books  address such problems from fairly dissimilar perspectives.  Psychologists Thompson (coauthor, Raising Cain) and Cohen  (Playful Parenting) collaborate with journalist/ author Grace on  a sensitive and straightforward advice manual that focuses on 40  key questions regarding the social life of children.  Conversational and upbeat in tone, the book is divided into  three sections designed to help readers distinguish "normal"  social pain from more lasting trauma. The text covers friendship  skills, tattletales, racial bigotry, bullying, and personal  hygiene and also suggests techniques for building positive  leadership and conflict-resolution skills. The issues addressed  are drawn from actual questions raised during their  workshop/consulting experience. The answers reflect cumulated  wisdom about what matters in the life of children from grade  school through adolescence, and the book as a whole similar to  but more practical than Charlotte Giannetti's and Margaret  Sagarese's recent Cliques. In contrast, Garbarino (human development, Cornell Univ.; Lost  Boys) and de Lara, a researcher and family therapist, focus on  the pathology of mainstream high school life in America. Based  on interviews and discussions with rural and suburban students  from "All-American" communities and published research, the book  debunks myths about school safety and discusses multiple aspects  of emotional violence in a school setting, including stalking,  bullying, dysfunctional adaptations to harassment, and teacher  violations. The authors exhibit an insightful understanding of  school cliques (e.g., "hicks," jocks, and "Goths") but tend to  be alarmist when depicting daily high school life. However, the  research is impressive and generates many valuable suggestions  for improving the school environment. The book concludes with  resources and readings on bullying and violence prevention.  Though Garbarino and de Lara's book is more focused on school  management issues, both books are recommended for public library  parenting collections. [Thompson's book was previewed in Prepub  Alert, LJ 4/1/02.]-Antoinette Brinkman, M.L.S., Evansville, I.--Antoinette Brinkman, M.L.S., Evansville, INCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.