Product Description

From Barbies to your first bra, from holding your teddy bear to slowdancing with your first boyfriend, from knowing everyone in elementary school to trying to make new friends in middle school. . . . When dealing with these changes, it's no wonder preteen girls can freak out from time to time.

Consider Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul your survival guide! From reading the true experiences of other preteen girls, as well as women who've been there, you'll see that you're not the only one who feels clueless and insecure sometimes. You'll read about tough subjects, such as peer pressure, cliques, divorce and loss, as well as fun “girls only” stories about friendship, embarrassing moments (these could take up an entire book!), body changes and first crushes. These stories will make you laugh, cry and realize that girl power is truly something to celebrate. You'll turn to this book again and again, whenever you need the advice only girls can give.

Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul is sure to be what a girl wants!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11602 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 350 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780757303135
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6–Readers are served up a helping of inspirational stories from girls who are relating their current experiences and from women who are recounting their pasts. It can be reassuring to realize that everyone feels inadequate and/or awkward sometimes and that even popular girls have moments of insecurity and doubt. These stories cover a wide range of topics from surviving middle school and parents divorce to peer pressure and cliques as well as friendship, first boyfriends, and puberty. The collection has a nice balance of poignancy, silliness, and straight talk. Empowering and motivating, these selections will warm the spirits and help boost girls confidence. Though theres nothing particularly new here, this book is a good fit for most libraries.–Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Patty Hansen and Irene Dunlap coauthored Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul, one of the most successful Chicken Soup titles. It was awarded the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice for 'Favorite Book of the Year.' They live in California.

Patty Hansen and Irene Dunlap coauthored Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul, one of the most successful Chicken Soup titles. It was awarded the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice for 'Favorite Book of the Year.' They live in California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"One Day You'll Look Back on This . . ."

I've learned to take time for myself and to treat myself with a great deal of love and respect 'cause I like me. . . . I think I'm kind of cool.
- Whoopi Goldberg

"I can't go to school like this!" I wailed as I stared into my mirror, hating my face, my body and life in general. A river of salty tears traced a path down my cheeks. Summoned from the kitchen by my shrieking, my mother appeared at my side a second later.

"What's the problem?" she asked patiently.

"Everything . . . just everything!" I complained and continued to stare horrified into the mirror.

At almost thirteen, the problems that I felt I had were overwhelming. I had a hideous new crop of angry, red pimples that had erupted on my forehead and chin overnight—every night. My hair suddenly looked greasy all the time, even though I washed it every second day. My aching tummy signaled that my newfound "friend" was about to visit once again, causing my jeans to fit too snugly and make me appear as though I had been eating nothing but hot fudge sundaes. And to top it off, my chewed-up fingernails were torn and bloody, since biting them seemed to go along with the way I worried about how other people perceived me. But everything that was bothering me wasn't just on the surface—I also had a broken heart.

The guy I had been going out with had recently dumped me in favor of an older, more developed girl. Everything combined, I was a physical and emotional wreck.

"Come on, now, Honey. Try not to cry," my mother said with a smile. "I remember what it was like to be your age. It was awkward and frustrating, and I got my heart stomped on, too, but I came through it—and so will you! It's not as bad as you think, and once you get to school with all your friends, you'll forget all about your pimples and what's-his-name, and one day you'll look back on this and wonder why you were ever so upset."

Convinced that she didn't know what she was talking about, I gave her a dirty look and headed off for school, greeting my girlfriends on the sidewalk while my mother waved encouragingly from the front door. Later, as much as I hated to admit it, I found out that my mother was right. As I spent time with my friends who were going through the same things that I was, my mind wasn't on my troubles anymore, and soon I was laughing.

When I returned home later that day, I was in a much better mood and because I had put my best foot forward, my mother rewarded me with a bag of goodies she had purchased from the drugstore. On my bed was a bag that included shampoo and conditioner, some acne medication, a gift certificate to a hair salon and, surprisingly, some hot, new shades of nail polish.

"What on earth is this?" I asked bewildered, thinking that my mother had to be out of her mind if she thought I was going to flaunt my gnarled nails.

As it turned out, she had a plan. I thought that it was cruel at the time, yet it turned out to be highly effective. I wasn't allowed to have any of the stuff in the bag, nor was I allowed to keep my ever-so-important stick of concealer. The deal was that for each week that I didn't bite my fingernails, one item of my choice would be returned to me. Desperate to retrieve my makeup and to get my hands on everything in the drugstore bag, I concentrated heavily on my schoolwork, instead of biting my nails and worrying about what people thought of me. Over the next few weeks, I was thrilled to watch my nails grow. By the time I earned the certificate to have my hair cut and restyled, my nails were so long that my mother also treated me to a manicure while we were at the salon. And as time wore on, I began to see that I was getting through the rough spot, just as she had promised I would. I liked that I received so many compliments on my hands and hair, but more than that, I was proud of myself for sticking with the deal and improving myself in the process—so proud, as a matter of fact, that I failed to notice my acne slowly clearing up. And I couldn't have cared less about what's-his-name. He quickly became a distant memory as I began to date many different boys, some of whom broke my heart and others whose hearts I broke.

Though it certainly wasn't my last acne outbreak, bad hair day or crushed spirit, I did learn something. I will hold with me forever my mother's words of wisdom: "One day you'll look back on this and wonder why you were ever so upset."

Years later, after several ups and downs in my life, I look back and realize that I did come through it all and I am the better for it. I only hope that if one day I have a daughter who is experiencing the struggles of adolescence, I will be as understanding, helpful and creative as my mother was with me.

-Laurie Lonsdale

Customer Reviews

***I second the WARNING***
I have never once reviewed a product on Amazon or anywhere else, but like the other ADULT reviewers, felt parents/teachers should be warned about this book. This book definitly should NOT say 8 and up. My 9 year old picked this up at her school's book fair and I didn't think twice about it. I just went up to tuck her in, she was reading it and was very upset and confused about all the stories she has read. Let's see, some of these stories include: the girl whose best friend was killed in a horrible accident, self mutilation, molestation by male babysitter, anorexia/bulemia issues, suicide, girls who are relentlessly bullied and boy chasing. These are topics that are very real and some are quite graphic, if it was a movie it would be rated R, why is it OK to market this book to 8 year olds? She is a mature 9, but is not at all ready to handle most of these issues. If I have to recommend this book, it would be for at least 13 and up, or at the very least read it yourself before handing it to a child thinking it's an 'uplifting' book for girls. I consider myself fairly liberal and easy-going, but will be discussing the sale of this book with the school librarian (k-4) before the next book fair. I really feel like a bit of my daughter's childhood was just swept away in 30 minutes, as corny as that sounds. I blame myself, I should've read it first or at least skimmed it instead of assuming it would be about girls rescuing puppies, lending a hand to a handicapped friend or the pressure of selling girl scout cookies!

Parental Warning
I also made the mistake of judging a book by its cover and buying this book for my fourth grade daughter at the Scholastic Bookfair.
Do you want your daughter to read about a girl whose parents divorced when she was ten and writes "my method for dealing with depression was a razor blade and a locked bedroom door". This story called "Sleep-Away Camp" deals with self-mutilation.
Your child can read about a four-year old girl and her sister getting felt "in places that aren't meant to be seen by other people." How about a suicide story? How about a mother with flesh-eating disease? Or the deaths of best friends, fathers, or the death of a mother by mixed meds? It is all in this book. Of course, the authors also include anorexia and a mixed bag of other dysfunctional behaviors. Not quite so heart-warming as it is disturbing. I definitely feel I was misled by the title and cover presentation. This book needs a "young adult" rating.

Chicken Soup for the Girls Soul
In this book girls write about embarasing moements, deaths and times when the girls or their friends had mental problems. Some of the stories scared me a few mad me giggle and the others mad me fell bad. I learned that you arre not the only one who makes mistakes or is going through hard times. The age range for this book should be 9-16