Real Kids Taking the Right Risks : Plus, How You Can, Too!

Includes twenty first-person stories about young risk takers who benefited from taking a chance.

Grade 6-9-Erlbach discusses different types of risks, differentiating between the negative (taking risks to be noticed or for revenge) and the positive (those that help you "sharpen your skills, gain insight, and change yourself or the world for the better"). She includes exercises to help teens evaluate an action they are considering and anticipate its consequences. A large section of the book contains first-person vignettes about a variety of young people who took risks, from Jamie, who speaks publicly about how AIDS has affected her family, to Jorge, who took a risk and joined a gang, then took another risk and left it. For each of these accounts, the author provides suggestions for finding out more information. The narratives are sure to provoke discussion about various types of behavior.
Lynn W. Zimmerman, Southeast Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this examination of the value of taking risks, the true-life case studies of 20 teenagers are presented, along with information on how to go about taking a risk. The book looks at the difference between positive and negative risks, helps kids weigh the consequences, and gives advice on how to successfully execute a risk-taking plan and what to do in case of disappointment. A risk can range from investing money in stocks and patenting an idea to standing up for someone and not going along with the in-crowd. One risk taker presented in the book is 18-year-old Rachel, who, because she was excluded from cliques, started the I Don't Care Club, which received national attention. In another story, Earl and Stanley, both 11, helped save Earl's brother and sister from their burning house and became local heroes. The book includes useful reproducibles and lists of resources, books, and Web sites. Shelley Townsend-Hudson