Shattuck, Randy, and Kristina Lundblad. Kidnapping and Abduction.

Shattuck, Randy, and Kristina Lundblad.  Kidnapping and Abduction.      Rosen Publishing Group                 64p        $31.95                     978-1-4488-5563-6         2012      all ages          E-BN  series:  FAQ: Teen Life      Nonfiction

This is a common-sense book on how to avoid being in a situation where you can be kidnapped or abducted.  A lot of do’s and don’ts that will help children, teens and adults.                  This book covers the different types of kidnapping and abduction, how kidnappers operate, reasons why, and what to look for when approached by strangers.  It is a book that we should all read to remind ourselves that kidnapping can happen at any moment by anyone who may not even look suspicious.

The book includes advice for teenagers and children, for example to never walk alone, especially through areas that look very isolated.  Hitchhiking is really dangerous whether you are alone or with someone.  It is a bad idea, as both people could be overpowered at a moment’s notice.  Children should never be allowed to walk away from you, whether you are the parent or older sibling.  Even at home, there is danger -- if a repairman shows up at your door but you never called a repairman, do not open that door.  If someone knocks on your door wanting to use your phone, do not let them in.  However, you can offer to call for them.  If it is a true emergency, they will be thankful, and if it was a scam, you just saved yourself!

The book includes a glossary, pictures, a list of resources and web sites, a bibliography, and an index.

This is an excellent book for parents, baby-sitters, teenagers, children, joggers.  In fact, this book is for all ages.   

Kidnapping, Abduction                                                                                                                              --Magna Diaz

 

Somebody.

Springer, Nancy. Somebody.
Holiday House 2009 117p 16.95 978-0-8234-2099-5 ms/hs

Sherica is a "missing child." For 10 years her father has moved her and her brother around the country, changing their names, dying their hair, and keeping them from making friends so that he wouldn't be discovered. Now, at 15, she knows she must do something for herself. Absolutely riveting. The novel opens with the main character not knowing her real name, her birthday, or where she comes from. All she knows is that her dad moves her and her brother from town to town, sometimes as often as twice a year, and gives them new names in each new place. We are right there with her as she discovers the shocking truth-- that she is a "missing child" whose father is wanted for abduction. The emotional impact of the book is incredible, as we get inside this child's warped sense of herself and her poor self-esteem, and her notion that she must protect her dad from the law, while at the same time her soul is crying out for a real life for herself. C.Kennedy