James J. Crist

This book was okay but it was not my favorite book I have read. It was defiantly a less engaging or imagitive type of book and more there for informative purposes.
The book addresses what type of siblings there are like step siblings and adoptive siblings. It address what siblings are good for and what thy can do. It talks about how you can older or younger siblings or even be a middle sibling as well as what traits siblings can have. It talks about the many issues that siblings have to deal with (for example, privacy issues) and helps you come up with a plan to address the behavior and what you can do to make sure it does not happen again. It lastly includes how to make your siblings your friends and how to make your family strong through sibling friendship.… (mehr)

Summary: Each section of this book addresses another aspect of having siblings. Siblings are good for a lot of things. There are different situations that exist that may make surviving as a sibling more difficult though.Your birth order in the family affects your relationships with your parents and your siblings. There are a lot of tips given throughout this book that help siblings get along as well.

Evaluation/Argument: I loved this book and thought it was a great resource for any child in a family. I loved how there were different quizzes and true/false questions throughout the book. These allowed for the reader to stay engaged in the text and to be occasionally quizzed on their comprehension. The quizzes were also used at times to introduce a new idea. Young readers will easily be able to read this text. Most siblings do not get along and so most readers will be able to use this book to learn what to do to get along with their sibling. Parents can use this book as a resource for strategies to use within the family as well. The different text features help to keep the readers attention. I loved the use of color throughout the text as well because this allowed for the text to stand out to readers and to be distinguished among the different headings.
The central message of this book is that siblings have a lot to offer to each other. You are stuck with your sibling for life so you should really just learn to make the best of any situation and learn to love and care for one another.… (mehr)

What to Do When You’re Scared or Worried: A Guide for Kids by James J. Crist, Ph, D. Epiphany library section 10 D: Youth (gr. 6-8), Character Building/Service. This book discusses fears and worries – where they come from, and how your body and mind work together to make fears worse or better. The author discusses common fears and worries for this age group and says that because adults also suffer from them, the reader is not alone. The author discusses ten things kids can do to feel safer, stronger, and calmer. He discusses phobias, constant worrying, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and other problems too big for kids to handle on their own. He explains when and how to get help from caregivers and experts, and explains what happens when kids meet with counselors or psychologists. There is a special note for grown-ups, and a list of resources – books, organizations and web sites – that offer help too.
The primary gist of this book is that ALL people have fears and worries but there are things people can do to control them. There are also people trained to help those who cannot control their fears and worries, and that it is good to go for help rather than suffer silently. As a childhood worry wart, I wish I had had books like this as a kid, to help me understand that what I was going through was absolutely normal for my age group, and to go easier on myself in terms of grades, friendships, and expectations I had for myself.… (mehr)