A Taste Berry Teens Guide to Managing the Stress and Pressures of Life or What to Eat

A Taste Berry Teen's Guide to Managing the Stress and Pressures of Life

Author: Bettie B Youngs

Like its predecessors in this phenomenal series, this new addition tacklesthe pressures of being a teen through a combination of stories and compassionate wisdom provided by the mother/daughter team of Bettie and Jennifer Youngs.

In A Taste-Berry Teen's Guide to Managing the Stress and Pressures of Life, teens will learn how to:

• Understand what stress is-and isn't
• Examine how they respond to stressful situations and how effective it is
• Determine how stress affects their physical and emotional behavior
• Minimize stress and stay cool under pressure through some terrific (and time-tested) intervention and prevention strategies
• Get through stressful situations and use them to their advantage.

Stories written by teens demonstrate the issues that are a source of stress for them, including schoolwork, dating, moving, parents' divorce, weight problems and sexual identity. To cope with these problems, the author suggests three skills for helping teens "think" their way through stressful times. Practical stress-busting techniques are also provided in each chapter.

A Taste-Berry Teen's Guide to Managing the Stress and Pressures of Life is sure to be the next big success in this extraordinary teen series.

VOYA

This fifth book in the Taste-Berry series, a Chicken Soup look-alike, is a mixed bag. It provides clear guidelines on the nature of stress, what causes it, how to identify it, and how to cope with it. It advises wisely, "While you can't always control or change the event, how you respond is under your control." The format, however, is confusing. Seventeen appealing teen-written personal-experience essays appear up front, followed by chapters of various lengths containing didactic instructional material, miscellaneous worksheets, and teen essays sandwiched in. Unless a reader has a compelling interest in stress, he or she is apt to skip the instruction, pick out the few essays, and close the book. The chapters are organized into seven parts covering stress particular to teens, understanding the many personalities of stress, coping skills, and more. There is an epilogue, a list of suggested resources including hot line numbers, and a reading list, but no Web sites. The authors urge clean living, drug avoidance, and positive thinking to manage stress: "Make a decision to see life from the cup half-full point of view." Despite the liberal use of terms chosen for teen identification—teenville, joggin' your noggin, and the land of Overwhelm—the book, although not blatantly preachy, is teachy. Liberally funded libraries where mental self-help or Taste-Berry books are popular might find this guide a worthwhile purchase. Further Reading. VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P M J S (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, HealthCommunications Inc., 320p, $12.95 Trade pb. Ages 11 to 18. Reviewer: Mary E. Heslin

KLIATT

The popular mother/daughter team of Bettie B. Youngs, PhD, EdD, and Jennifer Leigh Youngs author this interactive book that is augmented by personal contributions from teens themselves. The integration of these experiences and observations of their peers creates a comfortably familiar common ground that can make it an appealing read for YAs through the senior high school level. Young persons are also provided with the valuable opportunity to put their emotions into visible, addressable, b/w order by filling in their own personal responses to the presented situational questions on the blank lines provided on those pages. Divided into seven parts, this book begins with "Teen Talk," where firsthand accounts from YAs serve to introduce some of the major issues that are stressing them today. It follows with divisions that define stress, relate reactions to stress, teach verbal and mental coping skills, and present the positive potential to be found in support systems. It concludes with a look at the contributing value of sleep, nutrition, and the use of relaxation skills in a final prevention and intervention section. Selections of titles for further reading as well as toll-free phone numbers for suggested resource groups are included at the back of the book. No index is provided, but the detailed subject breakdown and page listings in the Contents allow for some ease of referencing. An excellent selection for public, school, and personal library. Category: Health & Sex Education. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, HCI, 310p. bibliog., $12.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Linda Piwowarczyk; Romeoville, IL SOURCE:KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)

Look this: Eating for Lower Cholesterol or Living with Diabetes

What to Eat: The Ten Things You Really Need to Know to Eat Well and Be Healthy!

Author: Luise Light

A research-based alternative to the USDA's food guide that cuts through the confusion of fad diets and big food lobbies

What should I eat?" If you're a health-conscious consumer, this is one of the hardest questions you face. Now this no-nonsense nutrition guide from former USDA nutrition director Luise Light offers a basic, balanced, and user-friendly food plan that cuts through the confusion and controversy of the latest fad diets, federal guidelines, and big food lobbies. Its ten simple rules are also adapted for a wide variety of nutritional needs--including weight loss, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Luise Light, M.S., Ed.D., is a former director of dietary guidance and nutrition education research at the USDA. She has worked on nutrition programs with the Red Cross, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society.

Library Journal

Forty years ago, everyone knew that eating healthy meant consuming balanced portions from each of the four food groups and cutting calories to lose weight. Today, we have a food pyramid with steps running up one side; the supermarkets are crammed with low-fat, low-carb, low-sugar concoctions; and yet we as a country are fatter than ever. What happened? These two books try to cut through the confusion to map out the basic facts of human nutrition and weight control. Dietitian Zied (spokesperson, American Dietetic Assn.) and science writer Winter (A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients) take a scientific approach, explaining the new U.S. dietary guidelines and demonstrating how the revised food pyramid can be adapted for each individual. Tables show age and activity levels for determining one's optimal caloric intake, and different foods are analyzed for the development of a personal menu plan. Light (former director, USDA Dietary Guidance & Nutrition Education Research), on the other hand, forgoes the technical stuff, opting instead for a flexible diet and exercise schedule. She also realistically addresses eating out and on the run. Both books include menus and recipes, and both provide useful tips for trimming empty calories from one's intake. Both emphasize the necessity of exercise, but neither mandates specific activities. Either would be a good choice for public libraries, depending on the education level of their clientele.-Susan B. Hagloch, formerly with the Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.