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CM . . . . Volume XVI Number 37. . . .May 28, 2010. 
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Fighter Pilots. (The World's Most Dangerous Jobs).
Antony Loveless.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-5110-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-5096-3 (RLB.).
Subject Headings:
Fighter pilots-Juvenile literature.
Fighter plane combat-Juvenile literature.
Fighter planes-Juvenile literature.
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Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.
Review by Mary Thomas.
***/4
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Apache Helicopter Pilots. (The World's Most Dangerous Jobs).
Antony Loveless.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-5112-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-5098-7 (RLB.).
Subject Headings:
Helicopter-Juvenile literature.
Apache (Attack helicopter)-Juvenile literature.
Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.
Review by Mary Thomas.
***/4
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Test Pilots. (The World's Most Dangerous Jobs).
Antony Loveless.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.),$20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-5113-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-5099-4 (RLB.).
Subject Headings:
Test pilots-Juvenile literature.
Air pilots, Military-Juvenile literature.
Airplanes-Flight testing-Juvenile literature.
Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.
Review by Mary Thomas.
***/4
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Nuclear Submariners. (The World's Most Dangerous Jobs).
Antony Loveless.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-5111-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-5097-0 (RLB.).
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Subject Headings:
Submariners-Juvenile literature.
Nuclear submarines-Juvenile literature.
Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.
Review by Mary Thomas.
***/4
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Bodyguards. (The World's Most Dangerous Jobs).
Antony Loveless.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-5108-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-5094-9 (RLB.).
Subject Heading:
Bodyguards-Juvenile literature.
Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.
Review by Mary Thomas.
***/4
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Bomb and Mine Disposal Officers. (The World's Most Dangerous Jobs).
Antony Loveless.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010.
32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.).
ISBN 978-0-7787-5109-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-5095-6 (RLB.).
Subject Headings:
Bomb squads-Juvenile literature.
Bomb reconnaissance-Juvenile literature.
Explosive ordnance disposal-Juvenile literature.
Grades 4-9 / Ages 9-14.
Review by Mary Thomas.
***/4
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excerpt:
In today's world, most people do not take part in dangerous activities during their day at work. They sit at desks in offices, or they work in shops and factories. For some people, however, facing danger is very much part of their everyday working life.
All the books in this series begin with approximately those same few sentences that are cited in the excerpt above. From that point onward, however, the books are very different as they describe six dangerous, if not quite the superlative "world's most dangerous" jobs. One could consider asbestos workers or coal miners as being more at risk than these people, but without the excitement and romance.
The books are similar in many respects. Each has 32 coloured pages, with some type in black and some in white on variously coloured backgrounds. As a result, some of the text, in particular when the print is white on beige, as it is on some pages in Bodyguards and Bomb and Mine Disposal Officers, is somewhat difficult to read. Wisely, however, text is not superimposed onto pictures, eliminating possible distractions for less able readers. All volumes contain an index and a glossary with definitions of words which have appeared in bold-face type in the book. Each also has a page headed "It's a fact!" containing "sound bites," as it were, of extra information that didn't fit into the format of the previous pages. There are several pages in each volume devoted to direct quotations attributed to workers in the particular field under review (although I suspect that there has been liberal editing and simplification of actual words used).
Little emphasis is given in any of the books on just why someone would want to take these jobs up as a career. Bodyguards mentions travel and being close to persons in power; Bomb Disposal dwells on job satisfaction. There is absolutely no hint given about remuneration, even in comparison with other jobs. Equivalent to a medical specialist? Secretary? No indication. These jobs are not ones you would take up for the money, but why else is left pretty much in question. The strongest hint is perhaps found in the glossaries of Test Pilots and Apache Helicopter Pilots, both of which list "adrenaline" as a word needing definition. Asbestos mining may be dangerous, but it would not give one a "rush"!
As a personal aside, I carried the books through airport security and one of the inspectors said, "Tell your students that, if they want to have anything to do with planes, they should join the Air Cadets. Otherwise it's “way too expensive to get training!"; so for what it is worth, I pass the hint along.
These will be good books for reluctant readers, especially boys. The photographs are intriguing, but they do require reading the text for an explanation of what is going on. This is a small step towards reading fluently for pleasure.
Recommended.
Mary Thomas works in an elementary school library in Winnipeg, MB, and is thankful not to have an adrenaline-inducing job.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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