Finding a way to engage children and teens in the understanding the dangers of drugs is always a challenge to parents and to teachers.  This series offers eye-catching information on a very necessary subject in an easy-to-read format.

Rosa Waters is the author of this series; but she worked with Dr. Joshua Borus, a pediatrician at the Harvard Medical School on the series.  The series is designed to attract younger readers and to help them understand quickly exactly what each drug can do to their bodies.

An answer to one pertinent question is found in each two-page spread. The author has included excellent color photographs, artwork, and charts to go along with the text.  Words that may need defining are underlined, and those definitions are found in the glossary at the end, as is a bibliography of other sources of information, both print and electronic, that the reader may find interesting or useful.

The introduction, which takes up two and one fourth pages of the 48 pages, is identical in each of the books in the series.  If the substance being discussed is able to be overdosed and become deadly, the author has included a paragraph about what to do if someone has overdosed on that particular drug.  This paragraph, which takes another page, is verbatim in all books.

Titles include: ADHD Medication Abuse, Alcohol & Tobacco;  Caffeine, Energy Drinks, Coffee, Soda and Pills;  Dangerous Depressants & Sedatives; Doping:Human Growth Hormone, Steroids, & Other Performance-Enhancing Drugs;  Hard Drugs: Cocaine, LSD, PCP & Heroin;  Marijuana Legal & Developmental Consequences;  Methamphetamine & Other Amphetamines; New Drugs, Bath Salts, Spice, Salvia & Designer Drugs;   Over the Counter Medications; and Prescription Painkillers: Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, & Other Addictive Analgesics.

I imagine that some of these titles have the same information in them, and they could actually be verbatim; however, I still feel that the works are valuable resources. I would recommend the purchase of these books for upper elementary and middle to high school students.  It might even be worthwhile for pediatricians to put them in their office waiting rooms.

Although this reviewer saw only the paperback version of the books, they are available in hardback and in e-book formats.  While the books are not cheap, they are not cheaply made.  The covers are high quality paper. The glue in the paperback format is very strong. The paper that is used is of very high quality and is coated to help improve the sharpness of the print and reduce the degradation of the paper itself. It is a little easier to purchase an expensive paperback if it will not crack apart at the first use or easily curl from moisture.