The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Covey, S. (1998). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York, NY: Fireside Books.
ISBN-10: 0684856093

•Plot Summary
A workbook of instructions on how to be a happy and successful teen, this work is just one of many inheriting from the tradition of the original The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Sean Covey has begun with a series of quotes and examples about lifestyle choices and behaviors that teens allow to become habit, that in turn prevent them from being who they really want to be. Using what he considers Baby Steps, Sean Covey gives teens tried and true methods for changing their habits to more positive ones. Focusing on the concept of remaking their own paradigms, teens learn the problems with allowing their approach to their own lives being things such as pleasing just their parents, seeing success only in materialism, and even being self-centered. In part two, teens learn to keep a Personal Bank Account, a way of keeping track of whether they are spending too much time beating themselves up over certain topics, aren't being honest with themselves, aren't giving themselves time to renew, and not rewarding themselves when it's deserved. Habit i is about being Proactive, turning setbacks into triumphs, taking stock of mental states in order to improve mood, etc. Habit 2 involves Beginning with the End in Mind. Teens learn how to set their sights on what they want in the future, and create personal mission statements, with realistic goals for fulfilling their objectives. Habit 3 is about learning to Prioritize, about learning to use a personal planner, teens realizing when they are outside their comfort zone, and acknowledging milestones. Habit 4 is about thinking Win-Win, about not being a doormat or always seeing things in a negative light, about making healthy comparisons and realizing that not all levels of competition are healthy. Habit 5 involves Seeking First to Understand, and then to be Understood, and explains the principles of listening to (not just hearing) what other people say, placing ones self in the shoes of another, and only then in seeking feedback of ones own beliefs or impressions. Habit 6 deals with learning about how Synergy works, seeing how people learn individually, adapt, and then work together as as group. Habit 7 is potentially the most basic, and possibly the most overlooked, teens taking time out from busy schedules to eat well, get enough sleep, and just relax.

•Critical Evaluation
Light-hearted, but fact, quote, story, and method-packed manual for teens to learn how to be truly successful and happy. Some areas that are meant to be funny may come across as inane to more mature teens, but the stories and anecdotes are often interesting.

•Reader’s Annotation
Probably best for older teens, especially those that have busy parents or have had trouble with things like school or emotional development.

•Information about the author
Sean Covey's father wrote the original version of this manual with adults in mind, and Sean has adapted it for teen audiences. He was born in Ireland, raised in Utah, and has lived in Boston, Dallas, and South Africa. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.A. in English, and from Harvard with an M.A. in Business. He was a quarterback for the BYU football team, and was ESPN's Most Valuable Player in a college team, twice.

Since reaching adulthood, he has worked at several multimedia corporations, including Walt Disney Company. He enjoys movies, working out, dirt bike riding, eating, and along with his wife, Rebecca, is the father of four children. Currently, he is the VP of Retail Stores for Franklin Covey Co., which specializes in materials for individuals interested in leadership.

•Genre
Non-Fiction, Self-Help

•Curriculum Ties
Social Sciences

•Booktalking Ideas
Lifestyles, ethics, improving self-esteem

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I had never read the original version of this book, but was intrigued by the number of stories and anecdotes included in this one for teens to relate to on a more personal level.

The Real Rules for Girls

Morgenstern, M. (1999). The Real Rules for Girls. Chicago, IL: Girl Press.
ISBN-10: 0965975452

•Plot Summary
Six chapters of potentially the most sound, yet hilarious advice ever written down for teen girls. Morgenstern is committed to teaching teens about having reasonable expectations in areas of romance, work, their social lives, with their families, surrounding money, and also provides a series of invaluable tips for life's everyday headaches and upsets. Teens will learn that there is no such things as happy ever after, if you want a raise-ask for it, don't try to talk yourself out of going to a party because it might help with networking in other areas (esp work), remember that family will probably back your play when no one else will, learn how to manage money, and stop obsessing over things that won't matter in five years (like being unpopular, and losing weight). Woven into the no nonsense lessons provided, are interesting quips and quotes from some of the world's most famous women, most of them considered pioneers in their own professions.

•Critical Evaluation
Witty, but in a way that will really make teens pay attention to the advice. Fast-paced, but worthy of a second and third read, the sort of book a person buys so their teen can review the material later.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for all teens, perhaps a good starter for tweens. Will carry girls through their early college years as well, particularly the sections on work, social life, and money.

•Information about the author


•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Biology
Economics
Health
Home Economics

•Booktalking Ideas
Career advice, money management, relationships, social and professional networking

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-12/Ages 11-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
While I have legal custody of my daughter, she does go away to visit her father's family each Summer, and I was looking for a book that talks about the facts of life in a way I would talk about them with her.

The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens

Johnson, J. (2001). The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens. Rochester, VT: Bindu Books.
ISBN-10: 0892818808

•Plot Summary
Drawing upon anthropological and literary sources, as well as true accounts from interviews, author Julie Tallard Johnson has developed a series of meditations, rituals, and guidelines for helping teens become spiritual warriors. Her methods include journaling, tapping into ancient stories about the lives of animals, constructing circles for celebrating seasons and performing magick, and working with dreams and sounds for a more complete experience. In addition, she has included an extensive bibliography of other sources, and online resources for further exploration on topics such as dreamwork, gathering your chi, and designing aid programs that make an impact on our world.

•Critical Evaluation
Extensive, and sometimes dizzying, collection of anecdotes, stories, poetry, rituals, magick, and meditations for teens that desire something more than just the basics offered by Craft books. Fantastic sections on initiations and rites of passage with cultural references.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for older teens, and those interested in a more intense experience than might be available with 101 sources, especially those raised in alternative religions so that they already possess knowledge of basics.

•Information about the author
Julie Tallard Johnson is a psychotherapist and teen mentor, and has been practicing meditation since the age of sixteen. She has spent a great deal of the last thirty years helping people discover spiritual practices and methods geared toward finding a sense of purpose and happiness. Her work has taken her to Australia and Bali, and she has written several other books or teens, all influenced by stories and beliefs she's found in her studies.

She lives in Spring Green, WI with her partner, daughter, and several red-tailed hawks. Since 2008, she has maintained a blog devoted to meditation, and other topics explored in her books.

•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Comparative religion

•Booktalking Ideas
Comparative religion, literature in religion, indigenous practices in urban environments

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-18

•Challenge Issues
As with any book about alternative religions, meditation, rituals, etc there is the possibility that parents, teachers or administrators will object to the materials they contain. With this work, I would go step by step, showing the amount of objective study that has gone into locating reliable sources on these subjects, as well as pointing out that exploration of certain avenues is an integral part of being a teen.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I wanted a more advanced book, with greater anthropological resources, for when my daughter is old/educated enough to work on methods that are above the Craft 101 level. I bought this book used, and I wish there were a new edition available with updated resources, especially with online content.

Teen Witch

Ravenwolf, S. (1998). Teen Witch. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
ISBN-10: 1567187250

•Plot Summary
Craft writer Silver Ravenwolf brings her down to earth methods of teaching and knowledge of Wicca to today's teen audiences. Beginning with a introduction on what brought her to the Craft (a conversation with an older and wiser relative whom she idolized) the next stage of her manual is an extensive chapter on practical reasons why teens might be interested in the Craft, religious persecution of innocents accused of witchcraft, principles of belief, and what the Craft truly entails/does not. From there, this manual moves into the basics of Wiccan traditions, creation myths, raising power, constructing a circle for magickal purposes, information on full moons, holidays, and creating a personal altar. Lest teens believe that the Craft is only about performing spells, the third chapter is entirely devoted to rituals, including those especially designed for teen situations. It isn't until the fourth chapter that magick truly enters the scene, and Silver first talks about details such as prayer, music, meditation, and invocation/evocation before discussing the more obvious elements of magick with candles, the elements, alphabets, herbs, incenses, and oils. She describes why magick might not work, reminds teens not to dabble in darker things that might turn out to bite them in the end, and is explicit in her explanation that magick and alcohol don't mix. While she does point out spells for such things as love, they are never about changing the will of another person, but only about attracting it to her readers, deflecting the advances of those with whom teens aren't interested, and removing walls to success that others may (either intentionally or unintentionally) place before them. Chapters seven and eight are about magicks surrounding healing and prosperity, and readers are advised to only heal those that agree, make sure you're on the right path several times while working, and that a spell will only work if there is actual work done right along with (i.e. nothing worth having comes free). Chapters nine and ten involve magick to bring wisdom and for protection, but again, there are advisories about how the spirit in which these should be performed. Chapter ten has assorted fun spells for everything from making the day a little brighter to just getting some peace and quiet. Finally, chapter eleven enters into discussion about how teens should discuss the Craft with their parents, friends, and others, how to fight discrimination in a responsible way, how to network with other Wiccan teens, and future reads that might help answer any remaining questions.

•Critical Evaluation
A candid, insightful look into the Wiccan religion as explained by one of its foremost authors and educators. Created for teens, by a mother of four, but suitable for beginning adults as well. Some readers might be annoyed by the quaint language, and many of her texts have been called "fluff", but this is fine for the age group included in this evaluation.

•Reader’s Annotation
Silver Ravenwolf's first book for teens. Newer titles also available in the fiction genre for this age group.

•Information about the author
Silver Ravenwolf became interested in magick at the age of thirteen, although her father was a Lutheran, and her mother a practicing Baptist. She goes into extensive detail about her young life in this book, and it can be described as quiet, safe, and without "malfunctions". Her introduction to the Craft came from a deck of tarot cards, and Sybil Leek's Diary of a Witch.

Silver has authored over twenty books on Wicca, pagan holidays, and various other Craft optics. She is the Black Forest Circle and Seminary, an organization that encompasses thirty-eight clans, each containing several covens. She is a mother of four, fifty-three years old, and lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Comparative religion

•Booktalking Ideas
Religion, tolerance

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-18

•Challenge Issues
While the language in this book is suitable for the age group, many parents might object to the topic alone, believing that by showing an interest in Wicca or the Craft, they are courting trouble or becoming involved in drugs, alcohol or satanic rituals. The first chapters of this book contain information about just these topics, and I would recommend going over them with the parents, as well as potentially supplementing the material with books and articles from reliable sources written for adults. Ex: The Truth About Witchcraft Today and Wicca 101, both by Scott Cunningham, and articles available on The Witches' Voice website.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
As a long time practitioner, I decided to pick up this book several years ago in order to educate my daughter. I am not Wiccan, but many of the elements were parallel to my own. Until now, she has been too young to really instruct, and she has only recently become interested in the topic, so I had not read the entire manual.

Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World, The

Action Without Borders. (2009). The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
ISBN-13: 9780399534874

•Plot Summary
Although intended for adult readers, this handbook has something to teach everyone over the age of ten, and helps to eliminate the concept that only adults have something work giving to the world. Beginning with the Part I, this manual introduces the reader to ways they can start helping, explains the basics of nonprofits (vs not-for-profits or hybrids), and details how all experience is relevant (work, hobbies, having access to resources, possessing life experience). The reader will explore what type of organization (formal, informal, established or emerging), will best suit their ideas, skills, and desire to serve. It also maintains that contributions can be made in time, money or expertise. Would-be volunteers are given the tools to perform their own self-assessment, so they can find a place that's right for them (be it local, regional, state, national or international). Part II delves into an investigation into volunteering on a deeper level. Individuals may choose to "hit-and-run" or "episodic volunteering", which is giving a quick hand when time is available, bu requires no continuous commitment of any kind. Online volunteering may allow individuals without transportation, limited mobility or the desire to work with a national or global need, to volunteer without ever leaving home. Days of Service volunteering, that is, volunteering on organization-designated special days can also lend itself to occasional service or online volunteerism. For that want a more social activity, group volunteering might be the best idea, and this form is becoming more popular with business for teaching their employees how to work in teams. For persons lacking child care or that want to make a difference with persons they already know, family volunteering is a choice. To gain experience or learn new skills, internships, voluntourism, and a DIY approach to creating a volunteer org can open new avenues. For teens, all of these may be viable solutions, because they will develop new skills and approaches to problem solving.

•Critical Evaluation
A practical guide for getting involved in volunteering, and helping nonprofit organizations in other ways, ones that can literally change lives-both of the beneficiaries of service, and the teens. Easily followed format, and lack of legalese keeps this manual inside the scope of teen interest.

•Reader’s Annotation
A manual suitable for reading more than once, especially as teens grow, develop new skills, and find new areas of interest.

•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Economics
Business
Marketing

•Booktalking Ideas
Volunteerism, nonprofit organizations, internships, management

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-?/Ages 15-Adult

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I had my first volunteer job, in the local public library, at the age of eight. While my daughter hasn't expressed an interest in volunteering so far, she is becoming more aware of the world around her. She is not a teen yet, but those years are only a few away, and I think all teens could benefit from this manual-if not a teen version of it.

Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens

Kiyosaki, R. (2004). Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens. New York, NY: Warner Books.
ISBN-10: 0446693219

•Plot Summary
School is important, but there are simply some forms of education that teens not will receive there, and one of them is an education in financial literacy. Kiyosaki learned important lessons about financial literacy from his father, and the father of his best friend, Mike. A person's IQ is not the sum total of what they can learn, every person has a different learning style, and knowing your style can help you effectively manage your finances-these are the initial steps in understanding Kiyosaki's language of financial literacy. In Part I, he encourages teens to learn their style, and to put it to use by creating a mindset of "I can be rich". In Part II, he describes his own initial experience with the relationship between work and money, how doing jobs that are repetitive can energize you and result in creative thinking-the key to financial success. Mike's father pays the boys to help out in one of his businesses, paying them less than they the feel they deserve, but young Robert catches on that if he ignores the need for money, it won't be a pressure against his drive. He and Mike begin a business of taking unsold comics, and making an in-house library, a flat fee for their friends to read comics in multiples, rather than having to but them individually at a higher cost. Lesson learned? Teens should keep their ears open for opportunities, and a secondary example is given of creating costumes as business during the Halloween rush. In Part III, the author gives the details on how to "create" money. As an entity, money can come from earnings from work, from passive sources (like real estate or businesses physically run by others) or from financial portfolios (stocks, mutual funds, etc). Perhaps one of the most important lessons of the book is also now revealed: acquire assets (something that generates income on a regular basis), not liabilities (items that don't generate money until they are sold-like televisions, skis, etc). Of interest primarily to teens, many technological gadgets are liabilities-cars, cell phones, computers, etc do not provide a means of generating money, and they require money to remain operational. It's at this point that teens also learn how to create a financial statement, so they can see what they have v what it's costing them. An inventive way to learn is explored in Chapter 7, playing games like Monopoly, and the author's own designed games CASHFLOW 101, CASHFLOW 202, CASHFLOW for KIDS and games at his site, Rich Kid Smart Kid. All of these games help teens explore the concepts of assets v liabilities, and how to accumulate only assets. By Part III, teens delve into how to find an earned income job, and what it will mean in terms of exchange, taxes, and searching for new opportunities. They also learn features of managing their assets, giving to charity, maintaining a savings account, making investments (and getting a return on them). It might seem counter intuitive, but teens learn that when they receive income, they pay themselves a percentage of that income before they do anything else toward paying on their liabilities. With this method, one has to think about how to make up the difference on those months where they fall short, without touching their savings. Finally, the topic of good debt v bad debt is explained, i.e. that paying more than the minimum balance each month on credit cards is good, while only paying that minimum will result in the debt stretching out must longer than the life of the object with which it was used to purchase.

•Critical Evaluation
Simple, but sensible methods for teens to learn about money, especially in a time when so many Americans are in serious debt due to educational costs or just overspending. Lessons they may not learn at home, teens can learn with this guide.

•Reader’s Annotation
Straightforward, but amusing anecdotes, interlaced with important financial information. See games and author's web sites for more insight and chances to test ideas.

•Information about the author
Robert Kiyosaki is Japanese-American, born and raised on the island of Hawaii. He attended college in New York, then served in Vietnam, before starting a company that sold velcro closure wallets to surfers. In 1985, he started the company to educate others in matters of business and investment, which he sold in 1985. He was able to retire at age 47.

His original book, Rich Dad Poor Dad sold 17 million copies, and was on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and USA Today. As mentioned in the book, he has also created several investment web sites to help his students better understand the principles set forth in his books and workshops.

•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Economics

•Booktalking Ideas
Career building, money management, savings and investment for teens

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
My daughter is soon going to at an age where she will need to really understand about money management. Due to the economic crunch now present in the United States, many individuals are scrambling to make ends meet, and I don't want her to be one of those people. In addition, I really think this book can aid all teens, because the ideas are simple, and his methods are sound.