With declarative text and glossy, full-bleed photos, the Community Helpers series introduces adult professions to the youngest readers. What sets this package apart from similar series is a particularly clean and stylish design and a willingness to show the unpleasant sides of the job‚ an unusual but welcome approach. Doctorsis especially sober. Sensitive readers may be disturbed by those flecks of blood on the surgeon’s coat, and that close-up of stitches going in may cause even adults to blanch, too. The tone is kept light “Ow! It hurts a little” even when the situation is serious: “Ty has cancer” Mail Carriers follows the mail from the sorting shelves to the bin, to the truck, and to your door, mentioning along the way fun details (the red flag on a mailbox) as well as differences between city and country routes. Police Officers doesn’t flinch from shots of a criminal being cuffed, cops in riot gear, and an officer approaching a car crash. For balance, there are K-9 units! Teachers’s help kids learn, and we see just that via lesson plans, computer tablet use, field trips, gym class, and even teachers staying late to grade tests. An impressive blend of comforting tones plus realistic content.
