Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul (31 page)
Read Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul Online
Authors: Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield is a bestselling author and one of America’s leading experts in the development of human potential. He is both a dynamic and entertaining speaker and a highly sought-after trainer.
Jack spent his childhood years growing up in Martins Ferry, Ohio, and Wheeling, West Virginia. Jack admits to being shy and lacking in self-confidence as a kid, but through a lot of hard work, he managed to earn letters in three sports and graduate third in his high school class.
After graduating from college, Jack taught school in Chicago’s inner city and in Iowa. Most of his professional career after that has been spent teaching teachers how to empower kids to believe in themselves and to go for their dreams.
He is the author and narrator of several bestselling audio- and videocassette programs, including
Self-Esteem and Peak Performance, How to Build High Self-Esteem
and
The GOALS Program
. He is a regularly consulted expert for radio and television broadcasts and has published fourteen books—all bestsellers within their categories.
Jack addresses over a hundred groups each year. His clients have included schools and school districts; over one hundred education associations, and corporate clients such as AT&T, Campbell Soup, Clairol, Domino’s Pizza, GE, Re/Max, Sunkist, Supercuts and Virgin Records.
Jack conducts an annual seven-day Training of Trainers program in the areas of building self-esteem and achieving peak performance. It attracts educators, counselors, parenting trainers, corporate trainers, professional speakers and ministers.
For further information about Jack’s books, tapes and training programs, or to schedule him for a presentation, please contact:
The Canfield Training Group
P.O. Box 30880 • Santa Barbara, CA 93130
phone: 805-563-2935 • fax: 805-563-2945
To e-mail or visit our Website:
www.chickensoup.com
Mark Victor Hansen was born to Danish immigrants, Una and Paul Hansen, in Waukegan, Illinois. He began working at nine. He also had his own newspaper route, and by age sixteen was an assistant supervisor at that newspaper.
When Mark was a sophomore in high school, he watched the Beatles premiere on TV. He called his best friend, Gary Youngberg, and said, “Let’s start a rock ’n’ roll band!” Within two weeks, they had a five-member group called The Messengers. Because of the band, Mark made enough money to pay his own way through college.
Mark went on to become a professional speaker who, in the last twenty-four years, has made over four thousand presentations to more than 2 million people. His presentations cover sales excellence and strategies, and personal empowerment.
His mission to make a profound and positive difference in people’s lives continues to be his main focus. Throughout his career, Mark has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to create a more powerful and purposeful future for themselves.
A prolific writer, Mark authored
Future Diary, How to Achieve Total Prosperity
and
The Miracle of Tithing.
He is co-author of the C
hicken Soup for the Soul
series,
Dare to Win
and
The Aladdin Factor
(all with Jack Canfield) and
The Master Motivator
(with Joe Batten).
Mark has also produced a complete library of personal empowerment audio- and videocassette programs that have enabled his listeners to recognize and use their innate abilities in their business and personal lives. He has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO, PBS and CNN.
Mark lives in Costa Mesa, California.
For further information about Mark contact:
Mark Victor Hansen & Associates
P.O. Box 7665
Newport Beach, CA 92658
phone: 949-759-9304 or 800-433-2314
fax: 949-722-6912
Website:
www.chickensoup.com
Patty Hansen has contributed many of the most loved stories in the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series. She is the coauthor and editor of
Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul,
and coauthor of (with Mark Victor Hansen and Barbara Nichols)
Out of the Blue: Delight Comes into Our Lives.
Patty was committed to making
Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul
relevant to the issues that kids face today, and to make sure that it would be a book that kids, ages nine through thirteen, would not only love to read but could also use as a guide for everyday life.
A third-generation California native, Patty was raised in Pleasant Hill, where her mother, Shirley, still lives. Her sister, Jackie, lives in Oregon.
Prior to her career as an author, Patty worked for United Airlines for thirteen years as a flight attendant. During that time, she received two commendations for bravery. She received the first one when, as the only fight attendant on board, she prepared forty-four passengers for a successful emergency landing. The second was for extinguishing a fire on board a mid-Pacific flight, thus averting an emergency situation and saving hundreds of lives.
After “hanging up her wings,” Patty became the chief financial officer and troubleshooter for M. V. H. & Associates, Inc., in Newport Beach, California.
In 1998, Mom’s House, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides free childcare for young mothers, nominated Patty as Celebrity Mother of the Year.
Patty has two children Elisabeth and Melanie. With the help of their housekeeper, Eva, they share their lives with one rabbit, one duck, two horses, three dogs, four cats, four birds, five fish, and twenty-one chickens.
If you would like to contact Patty:
Patty Hansen
LifeWriters
P.O. Box 10879 • Costa Mesa, CA 92627
phone: 949-645-5240 • fax: 949-645-3203
To send e-mail or to visit our Website:
www.chickensoup.com
or
www.PreteenPlanet.com
Irene Dunlap began her writing career in elementary school when she discovered her love for creating poetry, a passion she believes to have inherited from her paternal grandmother. She expressed her love of words through writing fictional short stories and song lyrics, as a participant in speech competitions and eventually as a vocalist.
During her college years, Irene traveled around the world as a student of the Semester-at-Sea program aboard a ship that served as a classroom, as well as home base, for over 500 college students. After earning a bachelor of arts degree in communications, she became the media director of Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. She went on to co-own an advertising and public relations agency that specialized in entertainment and health care clients.
While working on the book, Irene managed to stay involved with her children’s sports and after-school activities, to be the busy president of the Parent-Faculty Organization at Kaiser Elementary School, to carry on a successful jazz singing career, and to continue to be an active member of her church’s music team.
Irene lives in Newport Beach, California, with her husband, Kent, daughter, Marleigh, son Weston, and Australian shepherd, Gracie. Her mother, Angela, who has been her lifelong source of tremendous support and unconditional love, lives in nearby Irvine. Irene’s sisters, Kathi, Pattie and Pam, who are also three of her best friends, live in California with their families.
In her spare time, Irene enjoys singing, horseback riding, painting, gardening and cooking. If you are wondering how she does it all, she will refer you to her favorite biblical passage for her answer, Ephesians 3:20.
If you would like to contact Irene, write to her at:
Irene Dunlap
LifeWriters
P.O. Box 10879 • Costa Mesa, CA 92627
phone: 949-645-5240 • fax: 949-645-3203
To send e-mail or to visit our Website:
www.chickensoup.com
or
www.PreteenPlanet.com
A few of the stories in this book were taken from previously published sources such as magazines and newspapers. Those sources are acknowledged in the permissions section. Most of the stories in the book were submitted by kids and adults who had read our previous
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books and who responded to our request for stories. We have included information about these authors and contributors below.
Valerie Allen
is an editor at a crossword puzzle company, and is the published author of
The Night Thief,
a children’s picture book. Valerie can be reached at 930 SW 86th Ave., Pembroke Pines, FL 33025.
Barbara Allman
is a children’s writer and former editor of
Schooldays Magazine.
Barbara enjoys speaking to school groups and encouraging children to write. School visits can be arranged through her publisher, Carolrhoda Books, Inc., phone: 800-328-4929.
Bader Alshammeri
, age fourteen, is an eighth-grader from Rio Bravo Middle School in El Paso, Texas. He plays all sports, especially basketball. He is now six-feet-two-inches tall, and says he still has four more years to grow. His goal is to reach seven feet, and to play professional basketball.
Erin Althauser
is a fifteen-year-old freshman at Timberline High School. She is thinking of taking after her dad and becoming a computer professional. She enjoys talking, hanging out with friends, listening to music, and writing short stories and poems.
Killeen Anderson
is a sociology major who enjoys her volunteer work with the disabled students on her college campus as well as foreign languages, music, film and a good day of bodysurfing. She resides in California with her husband, Ralph, and their Labrador retriever, Digby.
Nate Barker
is a thirteen-year-old from Colombus, Ohio. He likes to draw, write and participate in swimming, track, basketball and snow skiing.
Kendra Batch
, age twelve, is an eighth-grader from Indiana. When she is not writing, she likes to ride her bike and go-cart.
Anne (A. F.) Bauman
, a professor of English, specializing in writing and children’s literature, has had her work published in books, anthologies and magazines. She is now working on a mystery for children.
Martha Bolton
has been a staff writer for Bob Hope for fifteen years. She is the author of twenty-four books and has been published by
Reader’s Digest, The Christian Herald
and
Breakaway Magazine.
She has received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics and is the winner of two International Angel Awards.
Vanessa Breeden
is a thirteen-year-old who lives in Texas. She enjoys writing, playing the piano, in-line skating, track, canoeing and collecting pictures of Leonardo Di Caprio.
Marcia Byalick
is a freelance writer, award-winning columnist, college writing instructor, and author of three young adult novels and three self-help books. One of her novels,
It’s a Matter of Trust,
was honored as an International Reading Association Young Adult Choice for 1997. Marcia can be reached through Writer’s House Literary Agency.
Joseph Cantrell
is a thirteen-year-old from Greenville, South Carolina. He likes surfing the Internet, baseball, fishing and biking. He has two sisters and one brother, with another on the way.
Ben Carson, M.D.
, was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1951. Dr. Carson attributes his metamorphosis from an unmotivated ghetto youngster to one of the most respected neurosurgeons in the world, to his mother, Sonya. Dr. Carson is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School. Presently director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Carson and his wife, Candy, and their three sons reside in West Friendship, Maryland.
Vanessa Clayton
is a fourteen-year-old who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she is a dedicated student and avid reader. She enjoys volunteering with children and food drives, playing basketball, tennis, skiing and playing the piano.
Donna L. Clovis,
a Columbia University Fellow in New York, is a storyteller, author and associate producer. She is also an ESL teacher at Princeton Schools in New Jersey.
Storybook of Native American Wisdom
is her fifth published book. Contact Donna at P.O. Box 741, Princeton Jct., NJ 08550.
James Elwood Conner, Ed.D.,
has had numerous careers, including teacher, principal, college professor, college president, curriculum specialist, senior associate for education with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and governor’s speech writer. He is currently freelancing and ghostwriting.
Meg W. Conner
resides in North Carolina with her husband of fifty years. Meg is the author of the popular sourcebook
Career Mentoring at Work.
Meg is the recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Award and has been cited in
World Who’s Who of Women.
Elizabeth Cornish
, age twelve, has recently been recognized as the top fifth-grade student in her school, winning awards in her district for writing. She enjoys performing arts in the areas of ballet and piano.
Barbara McCutcheon Crawford
, author and seasoned teacher, shares her experience in her current book,
The Common Sense, Early-Childhood Classroom.
She owns Jugtown Mountain School where she is the director and head teacher. For information about books and presentations, she can reached at 454 Mine Rd., Asbury, NJ, or by calling or faxing 908-537-4444.
Jennifer Rhea Cross
, age seventeen, plans to study journalism at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette. She enjoys spending time with her family, boyfriend, friends and dog. In order to help educate others, she is involved with hemophilia and AIDS organizations.
Roald Dahl
, novelist and writer of short stories and screenplays, was born in Llandaff, South Wales, in 1916. Mr. Dahl had a diverse and exciting life, which included exploring Newfoundland, being a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, working for the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and then writing magazine stories and screenplays. Best known for his innovative and popular children’s literary masterpieces such as
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda
and
Boy,
Roald Dahl died in 1990.
Jason Damazo
is a thirteen-year-old who lives in California. He enjoys playing the cello, reading, writing and playing percussion. Jason loves dogs and would like to see a wolf someday.
Jesse Damazo
is a fourteen-year-old who lives in Paradise, California. He is an avid reader and writes for a monthly editorial column in his local newspaper,
The Paradise Post.
Jesse enjoys music and plays the violin, piano and guitar.
Harmony Davis
is a fourteen-year-old who lives in California. She has been involved in creative activities since the age of three, including dance, theatrical productions, and writing plays and short stories.
Jennifer Genereux Davis
had her first poem published in 1996 and received an Editor’s Choice Award from The National Library of Poetry. Since then, she has had four poems published and hopes to continue with children’s books and short stories.
Robert Diehl
, age twelve, is an eighth-grader whose hobbies include playing lacrosse, football and basketball. He enjoys playing the drums in his school’s band, is a member of his church’s junior youth group and is an avid New York Giants fan.
Dayle Ann Dodds
has published eleven books, newspaper articles, poems and magazine stories for children. Her first picture book,
Wheel Away!
was number one on
The San Francisco Chronicle’s
bestsellers list. Dayle just completed another novel and her first full-length screenplay.
Jereme Durkin
is a nineteen-year-old student at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. He plays basketball, bodysurfs and likes to make people laugh. Jereme loves writing poetry and is thankful for the encouragement of his family and friends.
Travis Ebel
, age fourteen, is from Battle Creek, Michigan, and maintains a 4.0 grade point average at St. Philip’s School and the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center. Travis likes sports and hopes to become a doctor or an architect.
Adam Edelman
, age thirteen, attends Bayside Middle School in Wisconsin. He enjoys reading and social studies and plays football and basketball. He would like to be a music or film critic.
Aljon B. Farin
is seven years old and goes to school in San Diego, California. His favorite subject is science. He has two sisters, one-year-old Jasmine Marie and thirteen-year-old Vanessa. After he does his homework, Aljon plays video games and watches sports.
Robert J. Fern
lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife, Suzanne and their daughter, Jill. He teaches psychology at the local community college and manages a counseling program for children. Robert may be reached at 311 West Straford Dr., Chandler, AZ 85224.
Danielle Fishel
discovered her love for acting by performing in community plays, and has been acting professionally since she was ten years old. Her first break in acting came when she landed a recurring role on the hit television show,
Full House
. Danielle joined the
Boy Meets World
cast in 1993 in the role of Topanga. She is excited to be a part of the Celebrity Sightings team, an on-line celebrity fan club which features exclusive photos, chats, give-aways, prizes, games and a fan club merchandise store. The site can be found at: HYPERLINK
http://www.celebritysightings.com
.
Laksman Frank
is a sixteen-year-old honor student at a private school in Sebastian, Florida. He loves sports, especially in-line skating, hockey and surfing. Laksman is a community volunteer for AIDS awareness.
Amber Foy
, age twelve, learned to write from her fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Maxner. She has been writing ever since and would like to thank Ms. Maxner for all her support.
Judy Fuerst
is a first-time author who usually works with paint rather than words. Her previous productions include newspaper art, murals, posters, textbook illustrations and two well-designed children.
Judy M. Garty
currently writes for a local newspaper,
The West Bend Daily News.
Her story in
Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul
is a tribute to her youngest brother who died in his sleep. Judy can be reached at 210 Oak St., Slinger, WI 53086-9366.
Elizabeth A. Gilbert-Bono
earned her master’s degrees in both business administration and education from Harvard University. She is now enjoying life with her husband, Mark, and their three children, Alexandra, Bryson and Blake.
Candace Goldapper
earned both a bachelor of arts and a master’s degree from Queen College in Flushing, New Jersey. She is a former social studies teacher who is now a freelance fiction writer for magazines.
Lois E. Wooster Gopin
is a bookkeeper, mother of three grown sons and grandmother of six small grandsons. She loves to paint and write children’s books. She also enjoys sailing with her husband.
Louise R. Hamm
is a former legal administrator who started writing seriously after retirement. Married for fifty-one years, Louise has three children and two grandchildren. Lou can be reached at 1003 E. Houston St., Garrett, IN 46738-1622.
Cynthia M. Hamond
(Cindy) lives in Monticello, Minnesota. She volunteers her time at St. Henry’s Church as a teacher, communion minister, lector and visitor to the homebound. She may be reached at 1021 W. River St., Monticello, MN 55362, by calling 612-295-5049, by faxing 612-295-3117, or via e-mail at
[email protected].
Candice Hanes
is a ten-year-old student from Costa Mesa, California, who enjoys ballet, soccer and spending time with her friends. Candice enjoys writing stories and sometimes composes them on her computer.
Melanie Hansen
, age ten, is a fourth-grade student in Costa Mesa, California. She loves to write stories and poetry, and sing. She enjoys riding her horse, Shawnee Dancer, and in-line skating with her father, Mark.
