Crossing Guards

Readers learn about a broad variety of helping professions, including ones that might not immediately come to mind, such as reporters. The cultural diversity of children featured is a positive, although the quality of the stock photographs varies. The major weakness of this set is its lack of a logical flow. Reporters begins with the clear, compelling question (“What do they do?”) but shifts gears to a scene of a journalist at a fair without providing a useful answer. The authors seem unsure whether they’re defining concepts or telling stories, and the books lack concrete facts. Crossing Guards and Lifeguards, while slightly more focused than the others, also suffer from a choppy narrative and dearth of thorough information. VERDICT Though honoring unsung heroes is a laudable intention, this series is confusingly written.