Grounded in research, this book offers a collection of stories, activities, and teaching techniques to empower children and teens to effectively handle bullying and conflicts, as well as avoid drug use and low self-esteem.

Research clearly shows that our schools are often unhealthy social environments: 80 percent of middle school students report seeing arguments or fights every day at school. Almost three out of four (70 percent) of surveyed girls ages 8-17 report symptoms of low self-esteem. Even worse, most of these girls reported falling into patterns of dysfunctional behavior, such as bullying, disordered eating, or smoking or drinking when feeling badly.

In this book, author Kevin Strauss has carefully laid out background information, traditional stories, and skill-building activities that will enable teachers to help their students master bullying and drug prevention, self-control, and conflict resolution, as well as establish healthy self-esteem and optimism. The "Story/Activity/Discussion" approach of this text makes the serious task of learning and practicing critical life skills fun for both teachers and students. This story-based approach also increases retention of building-block skills, especially for younger students.