House That Crack Built

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Summary: Praise for THE HOUSE THAT CRACK BUILT
Review: "This book will reach kids with its rhythm, its visual power and humanity." - BOOKLIS

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Summary: This book perpetuates the common drug stereotypes.
Review: Although the format and rhythm of this book are appealing, the common stereotypes used-- again proves to be insulting and defeats the purpose intended. More elements of the drug trafficking system should be included to illustrate the magnitude and hidden agenda behind drug use.

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Summary: Crack Rhyme Hits the Spot
Review: Crack may seem like a funny subject when one is sitting around with their friends in the comfort of a Chinese restraurant. However, Crack is no laughing matter to the people living in the ghetto that use it as often as middle-class folks use water and bread. This book uses an interesting method of secretly transferring knowledge of the Underground society of Crackheads, Crack dealers, and Crack shipping agents to those that need it most - humans. This book opened my eyes to the light of our Lord and Savior! Amen!

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Summary: teaches kids the damage that drugs do
Review: great book i loved i

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Summary: taking responsibility for our own actions
Review: I anxiously await the follow-up to this book, The House That the Drug War Built. With sing-song rhymes and simply depicted stereotypes, The House That the Drug War Built exposes the hypocrisy of the war on drugs, the racial and economic stereo-types that are bandied about, the black market that is directly created by making some drugs illegal, the violence that is associated with this black market that would not exist if drugs were legal and handled as a health issue, the fact that the USA imprisons more people per capita than any country in the world because of the War on Drugs, the prison systems and police around the country are economically bolstered at the expense of your civil liberties and tax dollars, the CIA is involved in drug trading, the US military and the DEA are fighting a secret war in Colombia in the name of the War on Drugs, and the War on Drugs has successfuly helped create a country full of non-thinking sheep who do not dare question the sanctity of Drug War Propoganda.

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Summary: The House That the Drug War Built
Review: I anxiously await the follow-up to this book, The House That the Drug War Built. With sing-song rhymes and simply depicted stereotypes, The House That the Drug War Built exposes the hypocrisy of the war on drugs, the racial and economic stereo-types that are bandied about, the black market that is directly created by making some drugs illegal, the violence that is associated with this black market that would not exist if drugs were legal and handled as a health issue, the fact that the USA imprisons more people per capita than any country in the world because of the War on Drugs, the prison systems and police around the country are economically bolstered at the expense of your civil liberties and tax dollars, the CIA is involved in drug trading, the US military and the DEA are fighting a secret war in Colombia in the name of the War on Drugs, and the War on Drugs has successfuly helped create a country full of non-thinking sheep who do not dare question the sanctity of Drug War Propoganda.

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Summary: taking responsibility for our own actions
Review: i use this book continuously when working with patients with substance abuse. i have found it helps them to think about how our actions effect others... about how buy crack just isn't bad for the addict, but destroys the whole community. i read the other reviews about this book. the ones who are pessimistic, don't seem to be getting the point. the overall theme is taking responsibility for our own actions and considering the possibility of change. it reminds me everytime that i read it, that in some small way, my choices are making a difference.

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Summary: Great for children
Review: I was first introduced to The House that Crack Built working at a summer program in the ghetto of North Philadelphia. I instantly saw the interest it sparked in the children and the thought that it provoked in them. To them this book was al to real, as for many drugs is a part of their every day life. However, it showed drug dealing and drug use without the glamour that is often given to it both in the media and in many drug infested areas. Yes it is true that many middle class suburbanites also abuse drugs but the reality of the matter is that such a choice will have more of an impact on somebody from the ghetto that have little to hope for in life as it is.

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Summary: Who Built This House?
Review: Indeed, the market is saturated with texts documenting the rise of drug use in this country, subjecting readers to endless charts and statistics. Taylor's wonderfully written book of verse strikes home because of its simplicity. Readers are showm the progression of crack cocaine from the coca field to an inner-city alley. Using simple rhymme scheme, Taylor leaves readers with the message that many people, and therefore every member of the society, are responsible for the inundation this country has felt about the never-ending battle against drugs. Each page has a different watercolored illustration by Jan Thompson Dicks that makes the most of space while using the minimum effort to fill it. His characters, although sometimes twisted into agonizing positions, remain human, and touch the heart in a way that no statistic table can. The House That Crack Built is a wonderful text for children and adults alike, and would make an excellent addition to high school and university sociology and literature classrooms.

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Summary: Makes a good gag gift
Review: This book is so dumb, it actually made me laugh. I didn't think it could possibly be for real. The house that crack built...? As another reviewer mentioned, it has every bad sterotype in it. Only the poor and downtrodden use drugs, right? Give me a break. I bought it for a friend as a gag gift. He thought it was so ridiculous that he had a good chuckle. Don't buy this to "teach" kids! It won't teach them the right message. At best, this book is so over-the-top that it's funny. At worst, it is an insulting and prejudicial little book.