Judo in Action.

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Three very popular Asian influences are explored in the latest three books in the Sports in Action series by Crabtree. Judo and karate are two of the first martial arts to be embraced by Western countries and yoga has been studied in the West since the 19th century. Although technically not a sport in the general sense, yoga is appropriate for this series because it combines both mental and physical discipline and young readers can benefit by studying it. All three books are divided into short, pithy chapters that explore the origin, history, and basic philosophy of their subjects. Scores of colour photos and illustrations are packed into nearly every page to help the reader understand how these sports are studied and perfected.

Basic fighting techniques, uniforms, and the multicoloured belt ranking system are carefully explained in the judo and karate volumes. In Yoga in Action, the reader will learn about various yoga stances, such as Mountain, Warrior, and Lion. Gender balance is very carefully maintained so that girls will feel included in the more martial judo and karate books and boys will feel at home in the more spiritual yoga volume. A glossary and index are included at the back of each volume. These three books are excellent resources for young readers who want a basic knowledge of these three disciplines. Highly recommended.