Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul (2 page)

Foreword

You hold in your hands a very valuable book. In it, you will find inspiring stories from celebrities and adults . . . but most importantly from people your own age! The stories will encourage you, enlighten you and maybe even make you cry . . . but hold them close. Keep the book on your bedside table and read it often—whenever you need a guiding hand or hopeful thought.

Never give up believing in yourself. With God, you hold the power and talent to achieve all of your dreams. My friends, you are our future.

Muhammad Ali
Three-Time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion,
Humanitarian

Discovery

Faraway places
Events gone by
Interesting faces
Make you laugh, make you cry.

Cities never visited
Easy to see
Mysteries unsolved
Unraveled for me.

In the chair by my bed
Tall mountains I’ve scaled
In the pages I’ve read
Seven oceans I’ve sailed.

Stories on pages
Picture it well
Mystical fables
Only books can tell.

Jesse Damazo, age 14

Acknowledgments

During the eighteen months that we worked on this book (actually, the book worked
through
us), we were blessed to have many loving and supportive people associated with its production.

Special thanks to the “English policewoman,” Killeen Anderson, for her hours of editing and proofing; to Gina and DeeDee Romanello, and especially Michelle René Martin, for ongoing work effort; to Nancy Richard-Guilford for research and writing on “Just Ask”; to Nancy Mikaelian Madey for research and writing on “The Rock Club”; and to Sally Redd for photographic support.

From 7,800 stories that were submitted to us, we looked very seriously at 376 of them. With the help of the following people, who read for several weeks, we were able to cut that number down to a manageable 205, which were then sent to our readers for grading.

Thanks to the staff of Mark Victor Hansen’s office: Lisa Williams, DeeDee Romanello, Michelle René Martin, Trisha Holland, Gill Torres, Michelle Adams, Laurie Hartman, Paula Childers and Ami Garcia; and to Pam, Kyle and Jack Brown, Pattie and Makenna Buford, DeDe Moore, Megan Niedermeyer, Laurie Walker, Jody Sherman, Dawn Siemonsma and Kathi Fischer. Thanks to Sandy Asper and her seventh-grade classes at Ensign Intermediate School, and to Dee Mattern and her fourth-grade class, Cindy Branson-Waller and her sixth-grade class, and Shirley Kwan and her third- and fourth-grade classes at Kaiser Elementary School in Costa Mesa, California. We send big thanks to Donna Thompson (we love you, Donna!) and her seventh- and eighth-grade classes at Riverchase Middle School in Birmingham, Alabama. Also: Virginia Becker, Jennifer and Angela Sarb, Jordan Curry, Jacob Hackler-Roy, Carol Kline, Meladee McCarty, Kim Kirberger, Nancy Siebert and her granddaughter, Brittney, Sara Krehbiel, and Elyse and Dana Wilhm—thanks to all of you.

We had over 375 kids take part in the reading and grading process to help create the book you now hold. We thank our own kids, Elisabeth and Melanie Hansen, Christopher Canfield, and Marleigh and Weston Dunlap, for hanging in there while we worked long hours and were away from you. To Kasey Mullins, thanks for saving our book when our computer crashed during the last hours of book production. To Eva Espinosa, thanks for keeping the home fires burning. To Kent Dunlap, thanks for letting us invade your home during the production of the book. Also: Sarah Mutt; Maegan Romanello; Chris Baker; Marieth Mitchell; Ann Thompson; Jennifer Fishel; Donny Wilson and Michael Parris at Shaq’s office; Skye at Sterling Winters Company, Kathy Ireland’s management office; Adrienne Lopez at Nickelodeon; Dana and Pilar at the Savage Agency; Jordan Dabby at Shade Global; and the Children’s Authors and Illustrators Society. Thanks to Lisa Williams for technical support; John Sokalski for graciously helping to keep our computers networked; Christine Jurenka at Kaiser Elementary for support and ideas; Christine Russell for typing; and Melissa Pool for scanning hundreds of stories.

Thanks to Georgia Noble for her gracious hospitality while we finished editing the book at Jack and Georgia’s house and offices. And, speaking of hospitality, many thanks to Clark Albright and the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel for hosting our out-of-town kids. You are fantastic! We also wish to thank the following people for their ongoing love and support:

Peter Vegso and Gary Seidler at Health Communications, Inc., for recognizing the value of our book from the beginning, and for getting it into the hands of millions of readers. Thank you, Peter and Gary!

Patty Aubery, who was always there when we needed guidance and advice, and who keeps the whole
Chicken Soup for the Soul
central office up and running in the middle of what always feels like a tornado of activity.

Nancy Mitchell, for her invaluable feedback as well as the outstanding job she always does in getting permissions for the stories, poems and cartoons—especially the hard-to-track-down ones. Thanks, Nancy, for hanging in there!

Heather McNamara, senior editor of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series, for helping with the readers’ evaluation, and for being there when we needed her.

Veronica Romero, Robin Yerian and Leslie Forbes, for helping to ensure that Jack’s office ran smoothly during the production of this book.

Rosalie Miller, who kept all of the communication flowing efficiently throughout this project. Your smiling face and never-ending encouragement have lightened our hearts.

Teresa Esparza, who brilliantly coordinated all of Jack’s travel, speaking, and radio and television appearances during this time.

Christine Belleris, Matthew Diener, Allison Janse and Lisa Drucker, our editors at Health Communications, for their generous efforts in bringing this book to its high state of excellence.

Randee Goldsmith,
Chicken Soup for the Soul
product manager at Health Communications, for her masterful coordination and support of all the
Chicken Soup
projects.

Terry Burke, Kim Weiss, Ronni O’Brien, Larry Getlen, Kelly Johnson Maragni, Karen Baliff Ornstein and Yvonne zum Tobel, for their incredible sales, publicity and marketing efforts. Laine Latimer at the Latimer Group for her exhaustless effort and wonderful results with publicity.

Larissa Hise, for working with us so patiently and cooperatively on the cover design of this book. Lawna Oldfield, for her skilled typesetting of the book’s text.

Jerry Teplitz, for his inventive approach to testing the manuscript and cover design.

John Reiner, who nourished our bodies and our souls with his exquisite food during the final week of the project.

Most important, we wish to acknowledge the thousands of kids, teachers, writers and others who sent stories, poems and quotes for possible inclusion in
Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul
. While we were not able to use everything you sent in, we were deeply touched by your heartfelt intention to share yourselves and your stories with our readers and with us. Thank you!

Because of the size of this project, we may have left out the names of some people who have helped us along the way. If so, we are sorry. Please know that we truly do appreciate all of you very much.

We are deeply grateful for the many hands and hearts that have made this book possible. We love you all!

Introduction

A
great man is one who has not lost his child’s heart.

Mencius

I
think it is funny to be writing about chicken soup for somebody’s soul when you can’t even see a soul. It must be a special thing inside of all of us that does something because books are written about it every day.

When I cook chicken soup, it takes a lot of ingredients to make the soup turn out right. Maybe that’s why a book about chicken soup for a kid’s soul will be fun—because it will take a lot of different ideas, from many different people, for the book to turn out right.

Some kids might write about happy things, and others will find that there are only sad things in their lives to write about—like when I think about my cousin Kimmy, it makes me sad because she was the first person I ever knew who died.

But then, when I play with Kimmy’s baby daughter, Emilie, it makes me feel happy when she does something to make me laugh.
Something inside of me can feel happy and sad at the same time. Is that when you know that you have a soul?

Candice Hanes, age 10

Ever since the first
Chicken Soup for the Soul
was published in June 1993, we have been getting requests from kids all over the world asking for a
Chicken Soup
book just for them. So here it is, the first full-length
Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul
, written by kids and by adults who haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be a kid.

When we started this book a year and a half ago, we thought we pretty much knew what issues and challenges our kids face. When our own kids—Christopher, Elisabeth, Melanie, Marleigh and Weston—went off to school every day, we assumed that they were experiencing many of the same things that we did at their age. For example, being teased because of looks or physical disabilities was a big deal. Also, making and keeping friends was important. Betrayal by a friend was guaranteed to break our hearts. Getting good grades, being accepted by our peers, and being liked and supported by our teachers were things that mattered.

In April 1997, we did a fax-mailing requesting stories from over 5,800 elementary and middle schools across the United States. We received an overwhelming response. We read every single story sent to us—over 4,000! There were an additional 3,800 stories sent from other sources, giving us a grand total of 7,800 stories submitted and read for possible inclusion in this book. What we learned from the stories was very enlightening.

You, the kids of today, face much graver issues and harder decisions than we ever did. It is not uncommon for you to be exposed to gang warfare on a daily basis, and it is not necessarily confined to inner-city or at-risk kids. Drugs, alcohol, smoking, early physical development, pregnancy, depression and suicide have found their way into our middle and elementary schools. You know about kidnappings, child abuse and violence through the media or your own experiences. Immediate family members, grandparents and friends die from accidents or from diseases like AIDS and cancer. You are frightened of losing your families through divorce or separation; even when you know it is for the best, you don’t want it or like it. One of the subjects you submitted the highest number of stories about expressed your fear of and dislike of moving, and losing the home you have known all your life.

Although we celebrate the closing of the gender gap and the broader career choices that have become available to your generation, we now realize the stress that this creates for you. You are expected at an earlier and earlier age to know what you want to be and what you want out of life, and the choices can be overwhelming. We received stories that showed us that kids like you feel as if you must understand and accept all the troubles of the world. Because of the stories you have shared with us, we now have a better understanding of what you kids are going through today.

We realize that you have been requesting a
Chicken Soup
book of your own not only because you
want
one, but because you
need
one. Never has there been a time in history when kids have needed
Chicken Soup
for their souls more than now.

A book can open the door to a magical kingdom where knowledge and inspiration are available to all who read it. We hope that this book will become your best friend and nonjudgmental advisor, for a book cannot tell whether the person holding it is black or white, red or tan, young or old, a boy or a girl.

The pages in this book are meant to be read, absorbed and reread over and over again, and shared with friends and family. Within these pages are stories of heroes—kids just like you who have overcome some of the tremendous challenges that you face today. There are also stories that are funny or just plain silly. Without this side of the childhood experience, none of us can ever hope for balance and true joy in life.

This book is designed to empower and encourage you to love and accept yourself, and to believe in your dreams; to let you know that there are answers to your questions; and to give you hope for a great future.

It is our hope that any adult or teenager who picks up this book and reads it will find his or her “child heart” touched, and hopefully, reawakened. We truly believe that within each and every one of us, there is a piece of our heart and soul that we have hidden—a piece of us that perhaps still believes that there is a Santa Claus, that butterflies should be set free and that good will always prevail over evil. On a very deep level—our kid-soul level—we all want to be loved, accepted, encouraged and supported, no matter what our age. From our hearts to your hearts, we present
Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul
.

May kids reign forever!

Share with Us

We would like to know how these stories affected you and which ones were your favorites. Please write to us and let us know.

We also invite you to send us any stories that you would like us to consider for our upcoming
Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul 2
. You may send stories and poems that you have written, or ones that you have read and liked.

Send submissions to:

LifeWriters
Attn: Patty Hansen and Irene Dunlap
P.O. Box 10879
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
To send e-mail or to visit our Websites:
www.chickensoup.com
or
www.PreteenPlanet.com

We hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we enjoyed compiling, editing and writing it.