Breathe Easy: Young People's Guide to Asthma »

Teaches control of frequency and severity of asthma attacks through awareness of asthma triggers, relaxation exercises, and medications. Contains resources and a parent guide.

BookList

Comprehensive without being overloaded with detail and casual in tone without being flip or losing focus, this is one of the most accessible self-help approaches to asthma to come out recently. Weiss pulls no punches in his description of what an asthma attack is, but, talking straight to kids, he is encouraging about managing the condition. Chapters explain ways to identify and avoid personal triggers (house dust, smoke, animal dander, etc.), recognize warning signs, handle medication, and better deal with an attack when it occurs. The author even devotes a section to deep breathing and relaxation techniques. The illustrations are marginal (the cartoons are competent, the diagrams poor), and the biological aspects of the disease are only briefly introduced. Still, there's ample information to satisfy readers who are concerned less with scientific background than with ways to help themselves live productive, normal lives.