Soup for the Soul

Students at Kennedy High School in Granada Hills are learning that a little chicken soup is just what the doctor ordered.

About half of the school’s students have been evaluating stories for the latest edition of the phenomenally popular “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series--this one to be targeted at teenagers.

The project, teachers say, has motivated their students to read critically and given them a first-hand look at the publishing business.

The “Chicken Soup” series was created in 1993 by two Los Angeles peak-performance gurus, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Their first book, a collection of 101 rags-to-riches, tear-jerker and transcendent stories, won fame for its inspiring power.

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With nine “Chicken Soup” titles now on the market, the series, published by Health Communications, has sold 11 million copies.

Canfield and Hansen generally rely on small, hand-picked groups to narrow down the stories being considered for publication. But thanks to a family connection, they called upon the students of Kennedy High.

Willy Ackerman, an English teacher at Kennedy, is the mother of Heather McNamara, an editor of the “Chicken Soup” books. At her daughter’s suggestion, Ackerman spearheaded Kennedy’s involvement in the project.

Eventually, more than 1,000 students evaluated stories, Ackerman said.

“I think I read more stories than anybody,” said 10th-grader Lubia Carrillo. “I loved doing it so much. Not all of them were really good. Some didn’t seem like they would happen in real life. Some of them were really great, though.”

Lubia said she was particularly impressed by a story about a boy who lost his legs, which caused him to doubt his self-worth. It reminded her of an aunt in Mexico with a similar disability and similar doubts.

“I think a lot of teenagers will want to read stories like this because it explains how they really feel inside,” she said.

The frankness shown by the students in their evaluations impressed Canfield, the president of a Culver City self-esteem foundation, and Hansen, a Costa Mesa man who is well-known in the business world for his empowerment seminars.

“I really loved their candor. Adults tend to hedge what they say in politeness,” said Canfield. “If the kids don’t like a story, they say, ‘This sucks!’ ”

“They made very good comments about why a certain story worked or didn’t work,” Canfield said. “What emerged quickly was that if a story was great it would get universal 10-plusses. If it wasn’t so great, well, look out!”

“The students are so honest, so definite. They know exactly what they like and don’t like,” said Kim Kirberger, Canfield’s sister and the managing editor of the “Chicken Soup” books. “They were the deciding factor on what stories will be going into the book.”

Kirberger said the teenagers generally preferred stories about relationships and identity over stories about setting and achieving goals. So, while sections for both categories will be included in the final version, editors have decided to place a greater emphasis on relationships.

“When you read a book, you don’t know what the process is that goes into making it,” said Jessica Lopez, a sophomore at Kennedy who was so taken with the project that she submitted a poem of her own for consideration in a future “Chicken Soup” book. “This gave me a lot of insights into how it’s done.”

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As the last few evaluations from Kennedy students trickle in, editors, teachers and the students themselves are calling the experiment a success.

Kirberger said she has received more than a hundred letters from students at Kennedy thanking her for the opportunity to participate in the evaluation process.

“The kids really enjoyed it. They felt flattered that the publishers would want their opinions and they took the evaluations very seriously,” said Sheila Moss, an English teacher at Kennedy.

Canfield said the “Chicken Soup” staff is formulating plans to recruit another group of high school students, this time from several different schools, for a second book aimed at teenagers.

“It makes sense. We’re teenagers, so we know what we would like to read,” said sophomore Richard Nino.