Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2 [Paperback]

Jack Canfield (Author), Mark Victor Hansen (Author), Patty Hansen (Author), Irene Dunlap (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

At last …the long-awaited follow-up to the 1.2 million-copy bestseller! Filled with relevant, inspiring and fun stories written mostly by kids, this new volume features a unique, innovative chapter, "Rockin' Our World", that highlights real kids achieving real dreams, helping less fortunate people, starting your own business, and utilizing your unique abilities. For a young generation repeatedly exposed to a hostile world, this must-read book promotes positive thinking, giving to others, unity and tolerance. Chapters cover preteen concerns such as friendship, body changes, first crushes, difficult choices, as well as tough issues such as divorce, drugs and alcohol, and dealing with death for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JACK CANFIELD, # 1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling coauthor of thirty-one books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, has dedicated his life to the personal and professional development of others. He is based out of Santa Barbara, California.

Mark Victor Hansen, # 1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling coauthor of thirty-one books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, has dedicated his life to the personal and professional development of others. He is based out of Newport Beach, California.

PATTY HANSEN is coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul, which has sold over two million copies since its release in 1998. She is also the coauthor of Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul (Health Communications, Inc.) and Out of the Blue: Delight Comes Into Our Lives (HarperCollins).

IRENE DUNLAP is coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul. She's also a writer, and a mother of two, who is involved in enhancing the quality of education in her community. She lives in Newport Beach, California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

No Place I'd Rather Be

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
—Walt Disney

Growing up, I always dreamed of being a professional figure skater. After years of hard work, support from my family and good coaching, I am living proof that dreams can come true.

When I was born, my parents immediately noticed something wrong. My feet were deformed, pointing inward and curling under. I wore casts and foot braces my first two years to correct the problem. My casts were changed every two weeks. I teetered at first, yet I learned to balance and walk in casts. Soon after the last set of casts came off, Mom enrolled me in dance classes as therapy for my feet. I, however, quickly decided to try something else. Not far from my house was an ice rink in the mall. There, local skaters would perform ice shows. I remember seeing the glittery costumes, the dazzling spotlight, and their graceful movements. I wanted to try skating.

I started taking group skating lessons, but I'd cry before class because going into a group scared me. Performing on ice came naturally, but I have always been shy and afraid to speak in group settings.

One thing I've never been afraid of is competition. I get nervous, like everyone else, but never fearful. For me, skating has never been about beating others. It's been about being my personal best. I progressed through various levels rapidly and gave my first ice performance at age seven. Soon I started winning local and regional competitions. That's because being on the ice has always been the one place I can truly express my emotions. The ice is like home.

I began seriously training when I was nine years old. Mom and I would wake up at four o'clock in the morning, six days a week. I'd skate for five hours. Then I'd go to school. Since education has always been important in my family, I had to find creative ways to fit in school studies throughout my amateur career.

Twenty-four hours after graduating from high school, I moved to Canada. Saying good-bye to my family and friends made me homesick before I even left, but I knew deep down that I had to leave and train full-time to give my dreams a chance at reality.

I went to compete in the Olympic Games in 1992. No one, not my coach or even my family, ever talked to me about winning a gold medal. In fact, I wouldn't even allow myself to think about it. I thought that would jinx me. So, I went with the attitude that I wanted to enjoy the Olympic spirit.

My practice sessions felt great leading up to the competition. Finally, the day arrived. I remember stepping onto the ice and thinking, I can't do this. How am I going to keep myself from freaking out? I took a deep breath and eased into a solid performance that placed me first going into the finals.

Two days later, I was the first of the final six skaters on the ice. My long performance started well, but I slipped while landing one of my easiest triple jumps, and my hand touched the ice. I didn't want to make two mistakes in a row, so next I did a jump with just two spins to play it safe. As I neared the end, I had one more jump, the triple Lutz. Okay, this is it. You have to do this, I told myself. I landed it perfectly.

When medals were awarded, I found myself on the top step, the gold hanging around my neck and America's national anthem playing. Words can't describe the overwhelming mixture of emotions I felt.

Little did I know how much that one night would change my life. Interviews. TV shows. Magazine covers. Dignitaries. Celebrities. Parades. Fans. Endorsements. My big dream came true when I signed a contract to skate professionally with the Stars on Ice tour. I thought life as a pro would be easy. It's not. It takes as much training now as before.

Throughout the tour, special children visit us at practice. Their courage in the face of incredible challenges teaches so much to all who meet them. It has helped me see that we all have the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. That's why I started the Always Dream Foundation. Our goal is to make a positive difference in the lives of children.

How can anyone love ice? Frozen water can be so painfully hard and oh so cold—just as life can be. Ice doesn't care who skates across its surface. It doesn't care who loses balance and falls on its slippery back. Still, when the lights go on and the crowd roars its welcome, there's no place I'd rather be.
For me, the ice is a warm world of beauty and grace.

---

©2004. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen and Irene Dunlap. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

 

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HCI (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757301509
• ISBN-13: 978-0757301506
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael is an award winning author, motivational speaker, and youth pastor.

He founded HeartTouchers.com and Heart4Teens.com which are inspirational web sites and email lists with thousands of world-wide subscribers and over 4.5 million visitors in the past five years.

Michael authored the book: Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter", and his stories have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines around the world and in 29 inspirational books including:

Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul
Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Love and Friendship
Chicken Soup for the Christian Teenage Soul
Chicken Soup for the Pre-Teen Soul 2
Chicken Soup for the Father and Son Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christian Teen Talk
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Preteens Talk


Stories for the Extreme Teen's Heart
Stories for a Teen's Heart 2
Stories for a Teen's Heart 3
Stories From a Soldier's Heart

God's Way for Fathers
God's Way for Teens
God's Way for Graduates
God's Way for Couples
God's Way for Teachers

God Allows U-Turns
God Allows U-Turns: American Moments
God Allows U-Turns For Teens

Heartwarmers
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Story Collection
The Miracle of Sons
A Man of Honor
Smiles for Dads
Journeys of Friendship
Creating Emotionally Safe Schools (Interview).

Michael won the 2005 Storytelling World Resource award from Storytelling Magazine, chosen from among hundreds of stories, books, and recordings.

Michael was honored in 2000 by Heartwarmers with the title: Heartwarmer Gem as one of their most beloved writers -- "those who have consistently contributed outstanding and memorable works that have captured the hearts and minds of their members around the world."

He appeared on national TV in a thirty minute interview on the show "Book Tours with Corinne Edwards" (Wisdom Television Network) and recently appeared on the morning TV talk show: The Morning Blend on TMJ 4 NBC in Milwaukee. He has also been interviewed on regional TV shows for his writing. Michael is also a motivational speaker, speaking mostly at high schools, churches, and corporate settings, and was the keynote speaker on "Taking Time for Parenting" for the 2001 Farm Progress Days, one of the nation's largest agricultural shows.

He also owns and operates Video Imagery (VideoImagery.net), a video production business that has produced over 4000 videos for families and businesses across the nation specializing in memory videos (transferring photos and home movies over to video), corporate videos, basketball training videos, and weddings.

He is a Federation of Outdoor Volleyball Men's Open Sand Doubles Champion and an eight-time Gold Medallist in volleyball for the Badger State Games (Wisconsin's State Olympics). He is also a high school girls' basketball coach and a certified USA Junior Olympic Girls' 18 and under volleyball coach.

Michael is an avid reader (he always has a good book going) and shares a love for the outdoors and wildlife with his wife and sons. They especially enjoy camping, fishing, and hiking.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A VERY GOOD BOOK!!!!!!, June 16, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2 (Paperback)

I Loved this book because most of the stories are written by kids my age.Most the stories are true and are real life experiences, and i like that. i read the whole book in one day, because it was sooo interesting. I would recomend buying this, for a preteen and even a teen!! The stories really convinced of whats important in life, now i say " I Love you" to be family every night!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the first, March 19, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2 (Paperback)

the stories here were deeper and more touching than in the first book. i could relate to them more. i like this book becuase it's frank, honest and well written. good for age 14 as well.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars turned me off at the first story, February 6, 2009

By 

third time mom (Naperville, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2 (Paperback)

I read the first story on the "search inside this book" feature and that was enough to convince me NOT to buy this book and to give it a negative review. The first story is about a girl who switches schools, makes friends, and gains self confidence. She makes physical changes as well that all are supposed to make her into a better, more likeable person.

What annoyed me most was the fact that a "new friend" convinced the writer to stop wearing her eyeglasses unless she absolutely needed them, like for homework. Whaaaaatttt? I'm sorry, that's just irresponsible editing on the publishers part. Let the eye. dr. decide if glasses should be worn all day vs. just for homework, not a 12 year old who says "if you can see my hand you're fine" or something to that extent. What a HORRIBLE message to send to girls that eyeglasses=ugly & unpopular and that girls should avoid wearing them unless absolutely needed.

One other physical change the girl went through was to lose weight. She went from "short and stubby" to "long and slender". Okayyyyyy, I'm glad she got some better eating habits; even her dr. had told her mom she had a weight problem. But it grates on my nerves that the writer is implying to readers that being tall (now popular and surrounded by friends) is better than being short (when she didn't have any friends). Kids read this stuff and get the (even if it's subconcious) notion that being short is bad.

So good for the writer to have made new friends, to have grown out of her short, fat, pimply, dorky dressing, eyeglass wearing years. I just wish that it didn't make the girls still in those situations (especially ones who can't do anything about it) feel so bad about themselves.