Ellen Rosenberg, Get A Clue!--A Parents' Guide to Understanding and Communicating with Your Preteen. Henry Holt, New York, 1999. Paper.

Ms. Rosenberg's book is aimed at parents of children just entering adolescence -- a time during which, the author hopes, parents can approach their children and let them know that the parents want to have a relationship with them. The emphasis is on communication of caring, parent to child, and facilitating communication with the child. The author, a teacher at the college level, has spoken to groups of preteens and parents all over the United States. At each address, she has those in the audience write down anything they'd like to say on an index card. She has by now collected thousands of such cards, and reproduces several of those written by

children in each chapter of the book. The cards are unfailingly touching in their presentation of children's deepest fears and longings. Ms.Rosenberg's wish is to help the parents of preteen children come closer to them. She deals with the problem of trying to come closer to children who are motivated to move away from the parents only tangentially, and this is the single deficit in the book--but then, the author's intent is not to cover all of the developmental challenges of adolescence. A straightforward plea to parents to listen to their kids, before it's too late. Highly recommended. Click to order.