Teens in Peru: (Global Connections)

Peruvian teens lead very different lives, depending on where they live and their family's position in society. They can live high in the Andes mountains, like their ancestors hundreds of years ago, or in huge cities overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They celebrate holidays based on Incan ritual and Catholic tradition, watch bullfights in huge arenas, and cheer on their favorite sports teams. Teens in Peru is part of Global Connections, a series that uncovers the challenges, pastimes, and customs of teens around the world.

Review :
The four new volumes in the series designed for preteen readers offer a colorful look at world geography and contemporary cultures. The point of view is from the students' peers, making this unique and appealing series. Teens in Cuba shows how this Latin American country has struggled to provide for its people. Cuban teens today grew up after the 1959 revolution and were at best babies during the "special period" following the collapse of Cuba's benefactor, the Soviet Union. Thus, they only know a life of poverty and deprivation. Even so, Cubans continue to value their strong families and their schools in a country that has the highest literacy rate in the developing world. In Teens in Peru readers learn that the lives of Peruvian teens depend on where they live and their family's positioning in society. Some teens live high in the Andes Mountains and others in populated cities overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Some live in large, comfortable apartments in modern high rises while others endure squalid conditions in shacks without electricity or running water. Generally, wealthy people live in the center of the city while the poor commute hours each day from suburban shantytowns. Teens in South Africa illustrates the generation that is the first in 50 years to grow up without apartheid. The AIDS epidemic, poverty, and pregnancy continue to be big problems for young people n South Africa. But as in Cuba, young South Africans of all backgrounds value their strong family units, music, and sports. Teens in the Philippines shows young people living in a country that mixes old-fashioned ways with the newest technology. Although they see the latest movies, work extra jobs for spending money, and study hard, Filipino teens continue to see their families as the most important part of their lives. Along with the text, each volume contains maps, charts, a timeline, a glossary with definitions from the official language and indigenous languages, statistics, and links to the FactHound.com web site.-- "Multicultural Review" These books are concise and highly readable. In Cuba, the author explores how the country's communist government provides free and mandatory education for its young, and mostly poor, citizens, thus distinguishing itself from neighboring countries. Additionally, readers will learn how growth in Cuba's tourism industry is changing the country's economy and that competition for highly coveted jobs in this sector is fierce. Clear, colorful photos and sidebars on a range of topics provide further context. Peru highlights the huge discrepancies in lifestyles among teens from different income groups as well as those from rural and urban communities. A glossy photograph of young people picking through trash in a Peruvian shantytown is juxtaposed against a group shot of fashionable students sporting peace signs and a digital camera. The author clearly demonstrates that while all teens strive for educational success, the poorest rarely finish school and struggle to make living wages. These titles will enrich young adult collections.-- "School Library Journal" While some teens are in private boarding schools in the U.S. and Europe, some of their peers are picking through garbage in hopes of finding something of value to sell on the streets. One teen drives her moped to go shopping, while another digs for potatoes to help feed her family. Socioeconomic status and Peru's varied geographical regions dictate the vastly different lives of its young people. Teens in the Amazon live as their ancestors did thousands of years ago, finding their food and shelter from the land. The descendants of the Spanish conquistadores retain the bulk of the wealth and power in Peru, and the indigenous peoples still experience discrimination. This title, part of the "Global Connections" series, paints a vivid portrait of the harsh lives of huge portions of Peru's population. While the author shows that family loyalty and patriotism are key values all Peruvian teens share, the fact that income, class and racial divisions define the lives of Peru's people cannot be escaped. Bright illustrations, photographs and maps convey a wealth of information while non-English words are highlighted in colorful boxes along with their pronunciations. A table of contents, historical timeline, glossary, additional resources, source notes, a select bibliography and an index make this book easy to use and ideal for school libraries. Students, librarians, and teachers will all appreciate this different approach to information books about countries, looking at each place through the eyes of its young people rather than the traditional nonfiction text.-- "Children's Literature"