Changes

I have been a little bit worried of late that the word ''empowerment'' has been subject to a little bit of mission creep - that any form of self-expression is empowering, that actually doing anything that takes your fancy is also empowering. I don't think that's quite true. Human relationships are about give and take. They Relationships are negotiations - but negotiations are only successful if you consider both yourself and negotiating well, for the benefit of oneself other person: ''Nine Ways'and'isn' others is the key to a fulfilling and happy lifet me-me-me like many other self-help/empowerment books. Empowerment isn't very empowering without resilience either. And so I absolutely ''loved'' this little book. It emphasises resilience throughout and it also places thoughtfulness at its centre. Children reading will come away with a good understanding that human beings have rights ''and'' responsibilities and that the key is achieving a healthy balance between them. As one of the endorsers of the book pithily puts it, the empowering here is showing tweens how ''to become lifelong learners and teachers''.