Grown Up Partway: Helpful Ideas for Somewhere-In-The-Middle Kids - Softcover

Panara, Melissa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1960892819 ISBN 13: 9781960892812

Publisher: Synergy Publishing Group, 2026

Synopsis

YOU’RE NOT A LITTLE KID ANYMORE … BUT YOU’RE NOT QUITE A TEEN, EITHER.

Welcome to the Middle, that tricky phase where the rules keep changing, being yourself feels strangely confusing, and life is not nearly as simple as it used to be. Written as the response to a letter from a real-feeling tween named “Grown Up Partway,” Dr. Pearl Pinkerton, host of Rethink with Pink, the #1 (fictional) advice podcast for kids, shares a collection of Important Truths, Ideas to Consider, and Strategies to Try that can help Grown meet this moment with confidence.

Join Pink and Grown as they navigate some of the toughest challenges kids and teens face, such as advocating for yourself, identifying friendship red flags, and disagreeing respectfully. You’ll close the book having an entire toolbox full of practical, research-supported techniques that you can start using right now … no matter your age.

Inside, you’ll discover how to:

• Put the real you out there (without hiding who you are) and build lasting friendships.
• Try new words and phrases to own a mistake and communicate your needs.
• Set boundaries, express concerns, change your mind, and outsmart “thought traps.”
• Use the borderline magical formula Agency + Strategies = Options.

Your life is your story—written in pencil, with a powerful pink eraser in hand. You get to edit and adjust as you create your most comfortable, best-fit life. We all do. Because we are all somewhere in the middle, after all.

“Not only could I picture every student in my classroom benefitting from reading this book, I personally connected to so many of Melissa’s relatable stories and actionable guidance. A must-read for parents and teachers alike.” —Christine Scoppa, MSEd, Middle School Literacy Specialist

About this title

About the Author

Melissa Panara, MSEd., has been an educator for twenty-seven years. She holds permanent certifications in both elementary (K-6) and special education (K-12) and has taught Pre-K, third, fourth and fifth grade. For the last fourteen years, Melissa has focused on using play as a school-based vehicle for social adjustment and connection, self-advocacy, and language development in her K-2 students. She is the author of Life Is Written In Pencil: Finding Your Best Life in Plans B Through Z. Melissa lives in Fairport, New York with her husband, their two grown-up-most-of-the-way kids, and their goldendoodle, Ruby.

Edition details

• Publisher: Synergy Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1960892819
• ISBN 13: 9781960892812
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 124