Books in Survival Handbook series

The first day of school in a new middle school can be overwhelming and bewilderingthe maze of hallways, the hundreds of identical lockers, the locker combinations and sticky locks, the far-flung classrooms, the many teachers, the lunchroom full of unfamiliar faces. Anxiety over the strangeness and newness of all this can be running high, and making the transition from scared new student to supremely confident and self-assured middle schooler can take some time. This book helps reduce the stress, while easing and shortening the difficult transition. Full of extremely useful tips regarding orientation, locker organization, time management, choosing a lunch table, and adapting to new situations like increased homework, changing for gym in the locker rooms, and getting from class-to-class between periods, this book will turn even the most trepidatious new student into a seasoned middle school pro in no time.

Readers learn how to recognize and deal with various types of bullying, which reaches its peak in the middle school years. They get the rundown on cliques, and learn tips for taking care of their mind, body, and spirit when they encounter social pressure. A chapter is devoted to mean girls—who they are, how they got that way, how to handle them, and how to work toward a better way of communicating going forward. Cyberbullying is widespread today and very damaging—this volume also provides strategies on how teens can protect themselves and guard against hurting others. By using the tips and techniques in this handbook, students will thrive during these years.

Middle school is the ultimate transitional time in a young person's life. Amidst all the other changes—physical, emotional, academic, social—one's friendships are also growing, evolving, expanding, and sometimes ending. Students from several different elementary schools are suddenly thrown together and new peer and friendship groups form. During a period of such momentous change and flux, the shifting and expanding of friendships and acquaintanceships can be unsettling and disorienting. This book provides a wise and reassuring guide to the seeming chaos, offering insightful and gentle advice on how to make new friends, maintain old friendships, get along and work well with new classmates, and confront the end of friendships that no longer work with compassion and empathy. Full of useful strategies for spotting and dealing potentially toxic friendships, "bad crowds," and bullies, this book provides all the tools a young person needs to surround him or herself with kind, dynamic, engaged, and mutually supportive and nurturing friends-for-life.

This guide for middle school students will instill confidence for test taking. They’ll find proven tips to help prepare for each test and learn how to beat test anxiety before it can beat them. Topics include how to get motivated, take notes, organize time and thoughts, and win at studying. Readers discover where to turn for help and how to tackle different kinds of tests. Common test mistakes and how to avoid them are also explored, as well as what to do after a test is graded and returned.

Transitioning to middle school can be the most difficult of all rites of passage in a young person’s life. This straight-talking series seeks to instill the essential qualities of self-confidence, social and intellectual inquisitiveness and fearlessness, and self-esteem in readers approaching their middle school years (and older students who are beginning in a new school after a relocation). Each book serves as an insider’s guide to negotiating the transition with grace and confidence. Sensible strategies are offered on how to cope with the loss of old friends and how to make new friends; how to deal successfully with bullies; how to familiarize oneself with and settle into a new school; how to handle increased academic expectations, including standardized testing; how to get involved in school activities; and how to surround oneself with true friends and create a fulfilling and stimulating social life. Issues are addressed with insight, humor, and compassion.