The uniqueness of this book lies in the multiple perspectives drawn from youth, their parents, and their teachers. These perspectives provide a range of lenses through which a student or beginning teacher may view child and adolescent development. The complex processes of development occur within a social context, and therefore a professional teacher, administrator, or school psychologist will need to be able to view developmental stages from youths' perspectives as well as from their various social settings. The twelve cases in this book were compiled from interviews and observations done with youth, their parents, and their teachers. The cases were then written from multiple perspectives, allowing the reader an opportunity to understand the influence of family, school, and society on the youths' development. Each case tells a youth's life story, including the events and relationships that have influenced the child and his or her cognitive, social, and emotional development. The youth in these cases represent a cross section of ages and socio-economic levels and exhibit diversity in their ethnic backgrounds, religious/spiritual beliefs, gender, family structures, and disabilities. The cases are intended to elicit discussion on a wide range of issues in development. To this end, this book explores many critical (and sometimes controversial) topics, such as teen pregnancy, sexual orientation, disabilities, child abuse, domestic violence, death of a parent, and more. This will allow instructors the greatest possible flexibility in supplementing their courses with life histories and cases. These cases are the perfect illustration of the complexity of a full life history. After an introduction, this book is divided into twelve parts: (1) Ben: Having His Way at Preschool and Home; (2) Keisha: Connecting Across Differences; (3) Laura: Exploring Social and Creative Potentials in a Six-Year-Old's Life; (4) Emily's World: Nurturing a Child with Autism; (5) Nicole and Brooke: Homeschooled Fraternal Twins; (6) Beth: Finding Her Strengths; (7) Edward: Full of Life and Always Moving; (8) Frank: Confronting Change and Taking a Stand in Middle School; (9) Talisha: Overcoming Loss With a New Family; (10) Elena: Surviving Family Problems; (11) Hector: Talking Through Troubles; and (12) Jaime: Crossing Cultures and Celebrating Life. This book concludes with a list of references and an index.