Do Kids Have Too Much To Do? by Jennifer Joline Anderson, and Do Kids Need Video Game Ratings? / Do Kids Need Year-round School? by Carolyn Williams-Noren are part of a series that teaches elementary age students about opinions and debates using topics relevant to them. Each short book asks three questions related to the topic at hand, and provides evidence for and against. At the very end is a section walking students through writing their own opinion essays. The importance of facts and research is stressed, as is thinking for oneself, and keeping an open mind. I read these books with my cubs. We had fun discussing the topics and the art of forensics/ debate itself. While devil's advocate wasn't specifically discussed or mentioned, I appreciated the attention to both sides of an argument. That teaches kids to be more receptive to other people's points of view. Highly recommended!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Norwood House Press for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the first book in this series that I do not think is well done. I think this is too simple for the complex subject. This book only looks at 3 arguments, and I don’t think they are very well backed up. Some of the arguments use rational about AC in schools. I know this is supposed to be a 2nd grade general look, but I think even kids would be shocked to learn schools don’t have AC because theirs do. Or the argument about field trips and libraries. What school has the money for that? The ones around my home do not. Plus they use an argument that many teachers get second jobs in the summer and how would they replace that income. Ummm PAY THE TEACHERS WHAT THEY ARE WORTH! Nowhere in this book is funding an argument, and even at second grade I think that needs to be taken into account. They comment that US kids have 900-1000 hours of schooling a year while other countries have as few as 800 hours spread over more days. But it mentions nothing of class size or school funding. There is more to this question and I think this book is just too simple.