What Are Drugs?

by Gretchen Super, Blanche Sims (Illustrator)

Examines, in simple text and illustrations, what drugs are, what they can do to your body, and the problems of drug addiction

Genres: Health

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Isabella Ruiz]

best 50 cents ive ever spent 😂

[Starla Barnhill]

As I was reading it I found it to be well written for that particular age group until I got to page 30. This woman is not a doctor and to claim that Marijuana is a dangerous drug even for her times is so asinine it is beyond belief. The Marijuana plant or better known as Cannabis is NOT a dangerous drug, nor does it give you cancer. NO, it does not hurt the lungs and heart. This is the kind of crap that has been fed to children for way to many years. Yes, it does alter your thinking ability if your just sitting around smoking a joint. But the claims she made are just bold face lies and it is being fed to our children. I don't advocate sitting around being lazy and smoking joints for just the thrill of it. I believe in teaching children about healing herbal plants and Cannabis is a healing plant put on this earth for us by God. The same way that Arnica, Lavender, Chamomile, or even Valerian root. Did you know that Valerian root is the base that was used for making the drug Valium. Valium is used for sedating people but you can take Valerian root and get the same effect without the harmful toxic drug effects. I am not saying you should run out there and start taking the Valerian root. If your interested please go see a qualified holistic practitioner. NEVER, just start taking an herb because herbs can kill you if you don't know what your doing.

[Sarah Beth Stair]

Summary:
"What Are Drugs" describes what drugs are and how dangerous they are in a way that kids can understand. It details different types of drugs, how they affect the human body, how they are used and misused, and explains how people should try to be healthy and avoid drug use.

Analysis:
While I believe the issues addressed and explained in this book are very important and it is vital for children to gain some understanding of the subject, I felt that this book was a little too mature for the age group it appeared to be aimed towards. It was sort of graphic and over-explanatory about some of the drugs and I'm not sure kids should be exposed to some of that stuff at this early of an age.

How I will use this book:
I could use this book to teach kids about the dangers of drug usage and discourage them taking part in it in later years of their lives. However, I would probably use this book in an older classroom rather than a younger one, as the language and the wording of the book implies it should be used for.

[Hailey]

This is a childrens book about what drugs are and what they will do to your body. It also explains why people would even use drugs if they know what it does to you.
I really enjoyed this book because it so simple but still tells the necessary facts about drugs. I like that it is divided into small chapters but is still super easy to read because the level is low.
I might keep this in my room to read during red ribbon week or something like that, but I think this is a book parents should show their children at the appropriate time.

[Girls Prep Maya Lin]

Disnauris