Expressing the Inner Wild: Tattoos, Piercings, Jewelry, and Other Body Art

Gr 7 Up—With its attractive cover and enticing title, this hi/lo book will initially be appealing to teens. Unfortunately, its content is a bit shallow. Each chapter focuses on a different type of body decoration, such as nails, tattoos, and piercings, and provides information about both the global history of the art and its place in contemporary culture. Some of the information is a bit obvious and unnecessary ("multiple piercings are popular in some parts of the world, including the United States"). Most teenage girls know that "Fingernail artists use different colors of polish, tiny brushes, colored markers, and other tools to create intricate designs on fingernails" but they might be surprised to know that tattooed women were once considered circus freaks. Additionally, the layout of the book, which contains various blocks of text with different fonts and background colors, will be sure to confound struggling readers. Images are both typical and extreme (most people featured have a very "wild" look). The visual glossary at the end asks readers to discuss the significance of five random photographs of body art and does not offer any explanation. One highlight is the book's selected bibliography, which includes both printed texts and online sites for readers who are interested in further exploration of the topic.—Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY