Me, Myself, and I: Youth Meditations for Grades 5-8 by Sandra McLeod Humphrey

this book works!by Anonymous

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October 08, 2008: Award-winning Minnesota author Sandra McLeod Humphrey does it again with another fantastic book to help the youth of this country. This time, she guides 'tweens through their troublesome, awkward years of being 'not quite teen' and 'not quite little child anymore'. Each chapter starts with the letter of the alphabet, and the chapters are chock full of helpful information for this age group. An example chapter would be the letter 'E' ? 'Everybody's Doing It'. Didn't you ever say to your mom, 'But Mom, EVERYBODY'S doing it!' at one point in your growing-up life? I remember saying that to my mother when I wanted to wear makeup at age ten! Sandra uses a story in this chapter about a boy who is teetering on the brink of 'giving in' to peer pressure to cheat on a test. The boy thinks about other things the kids at school do to be 'cool' and realizes he's very 'uncool' because he won't go along with the crowd. What gets him through this temptation to be 'cool' like his friends? His faith makes him wonder, 'What would Jesus do in this situation?' and then he prays for strength to remain true to himself and to his own values, even if it means giving up friendships with those he morally disagrees with. My mother would have loved this book and I'm sure she would have cheerfully referred me to this chapter when the 'makeup issue' reared its ugly head in my youthful days. I'm also sure she would have been very happy that makeup was the only issue and not the cheating and other escapades that Sandra describes so well in this chapter. Sandra starts each chapter with a Bible quote she calls 'Bible Wisdom', followed by an appropriate 'Favorite Quotation', then 'Words to Ponder', 'What Can I Think?', 'What Can I Do?', all followed by 'A Favorite Story' with a follow-up 'Prayer' and 'Question to Ponder'. Each chapter with its excellent thought-provoking material will get your child into thinking what is the right thing to do in any given 'tween type situation. This book works! Drawing on her 35 plus years of working as a clinical psychologist with troubled youth, Sandra's winning combination of all of the above speaks directly to America's 'tweens in a language they can totally understand and definitely relate to. This is an awesome, must-have book for any parent, teacher, librarian, pastor, or Sunday School teacher to use as a tool to guide 'tweens successfully through those tough years of self-doubt and one's worth on this planet. Without a doubt, this book will reassure not only this age group, but all of us as well, that God is very real in our lives, is 'there' for us, and He loves us, just the way we are. I give this book a well-deserved high-five. Gayle Jacobson-Huset ? Managing Editor Stories for Children Magazine