Life Lists for Teens: Tips, Steps, Hints, and How-Tos for Growing Up, Getting Along, Learning, and Having Fun [Paperback]

Pamela Espeland (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

Lists organize your thinking, focus your energy, free up time in your day (and space in your brain), and give you confidence. No wonder everyone loves lists: making them, reading them, checking things off on them. Most books of lists feature facts, statistics, or trivia. Life Lists for Teens is different. It’s not about the tallest this or the weirdest that. Instead, it’s a user’s guide to life.

Over 200 powerful self-help lists distill “big topics” like health and wellness, relationships, feelings, creativity, personal safety, school, self-esteem, and problem-solving. Each list is like a mini self-help book—a starting-point for learning, thinking, and making positive choices and decisions. Some of the lists are practical: 6 Ways to Remember What You Study, 12 Tips for Making and Keeping Friends, 3 Rules for Doing Internet Research. Some are meant to motivate or inspire: 10 Goal-Setting Steps, 18 Great Reasons to Serve Others. Some are serious: 8 Tips for Coping with Tragedy or Disaster, 9 Symptoms of Major Depression, 10 Ways to Handle Hate Words and Slurs. And some are just for fun: The 8 Clown Commandments, 9 Tips for Changing Your Hair Color.

Any teen who has ever made a list will enjoy this book—as an inviting, enlightening read, a place to go to for quick advice, and a ready source of guidance and encouragement for all kinds of situations. These are lists that matter and teens will use them every day.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Covering various aspects of teen concerns, this book provides suggestions, tips, and hot-line numbers for readers seeking advice and referral information. It includes such topics as "Health and Wellness," "Getting Along," and "Planning Ahead." Under "School and Learning," lists cover keys to school success, do's and don'ts for classroom discussions, tips on taking notes, benefits of doing homework, Web sites for homework help, ways to change "the social scene at school," and more. "Staying Safe" suggests "12 Things Not to Do When Someone Bullies You" and "20 Ways to Tell If a Relationship Is Unhealthy," and addresses issues such as pregnancy, running away, suicide, and abuse. The few fill-in-the-blanks pages provide photocopy permission. Sandra and Harry Choron's The Book of Lists for Teens (Houghton, 2002) is similar but also touches on lighter topics. While both titles offer advice on what to do in difficult situations and planning for the future, Espeland's well-organized book has lots of useful information and teen appeal.
Nicole M. Marcuccilli, Glenview Public Library, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Well-organized...lots of useful information and teen appeal.”—School Library Journal 

“Good ideas for living life that will strike a chord with any teen—a ‘how-to-do-it’ manual for the road ahead.”—KLIATT

 National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing (February 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575421259
• ISBN-13: 978-1575421254
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Social Skills

More About the Author

Pamela Espeland has written many books for children and teens. Pamela is the coauthor (with Peter L. Benson and Judy Galbraith) of What Kids Need to Succeed and What Teens Need to Succeed and the author of Succeed Every Day, all based on the Developmental Assets. Pamela lives in Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The resource that I wish I had had when I was a teenager, March 1, 2003

By 

Jon Henshaw (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Lists for Teens: Tips, Steps, Hints, and How-Tos for Growing Up, Getting Along, Learning, and Having Fun (Paperback)

When I think of books written for teenagers, I usually think of authors who try to connect with teenagers by inspiring, pleading and sometimes scaring them into listening to their story; Which is why Life Lists for Teens pleasantly surprised me. There aren't any boring or overly dramatic stories; There are just great tips for making life a little less stressful for teenagers. In fact, there are hundreds of tips, hints and how-tos for growing up, getting along, learning, and having fun.

Pamela Espeland, the author of Life Lists for Teens, has spent countless hours researching and gathering together some of the most insightful and practical information for teenagers that I've ever seen. The conciseness of the lists, and the way the lists are organized, makes it easy for teenagers with a short attention span to get the most out of the book. Pamela Espeland even encourages young readers to write down or photocopy lists, so they can take their lists with them.

There are a total of 254 lists that are included in the following chapters:

- Introduction
- Health & Wellness
- Getting Along
- Staying Safe
- School & Learning
- Going Online
- Planning Ahead
- Saving the World
- Focus On You
- Just for Fun
- Acknowledgements & Sources

This book is definitely the resource that I wish I had had when I was a teenager. All of us who are reading this (that is, who aren't teenagers right now) obviously survived our teenage years. However, I think Life Lists for Teens has the potential to help teenagers survive their teenage years with less stress, and hopefully less confusion.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book That Has Helped Me Through A Lot, July 7, 2003

By 

Alexandra Lee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Lists for Teens: Tips, Steps, Hints, and How-Tos for Growing Up, Getting Along, Learning, and Having Fun (Paperback)

This book has made a world of difference to me. It has a lists of almost everything teenagers, boys and girls, might be confused about in life. There are reasons not to do drugs and drink, ways to not be stressed out, ways to be safe and so much more. Whenever I have a problem with friends, familys, boys or I'm just stressed out, I can look in the index to find a list to help me with the problem that I'm going through right now. I loved this book because I felt that the author understood teens and writes in a way that expresses knowledge, not opinion. This book is a must for any teen.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, April 15, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Lists for Teens: Tips, Steps, Hints, and How-Tos for Growing Up, Getting Along, Learning, and Having Fun (Paperback)

Every teen needs a copy of this book, not because it will make your life easier, but because it will at least make it simpler and more organized. Filled with sections on Health & Wellness, Getting Along, Staying Safe, School & Learning, Going Online, Planning Ahead, Saving the World, Focus On You, and Just for Fun, there is a ton of information just waiting in LIFE LISTS FOR TEENS.

Some of my favorite lists include:

1) 17 Ways to Manage Stress
2) 20 Ways to Tell if a Relationship is Unhealthy
3) A Bill of Rights for Children of Divorce
4) 12 Suicide Warning Signs
5) 19 Note-Taking Tips
6) The Student Bill of Rights
7) 7 Things You Should Know About Online Privacy
8) 10 Tips for Procrastinators
9) 10 Reasons Why You Need Self-Esteem
10) 12 Reasons to Write
11) 13 Things You Can Do to Promote Diversity

Overall, this is a great book for teens, pre-teens, and even parents. A helpful handbook to daily life!