Children and adolescents who succeed have specific assets in their lives--developmental assets, such as family support and self-esteem. The more assets young people have, the less likely they are to lose their way and get into trouble. Based on nationwide studies of children in grades 6 through 12, this book spells out 40 assets that help children succeed. The book includes more than 900 specific, concrete suggestions to help parents build assets in the home, school, community and religious congregation. The book first presents checklists for kids and parents to determine what assets kids already have so parents can focus on the ones they need. The major portion of the book details the 40 assets, external and internal, and how to build them. The specific assets are organized into the following areas: (1) Support, including family support, other adult relationships, and caring school climate; (2) Empowerment, including community that values youth, and service to others; (3) Boundaries and Expectations, including neighborhood boundaries and positive peer influence; (4) Constructive Use of Time; (5) Commitment to Learning, including school engagement and reading for pleasure; (6) Positive Values, including equality and social justice, and restraint; (7) Social Competency, including planning and decision making, cultural competence, and resistance skills; and (8) Positive Identity, including sense of purpose, and a positive view of person future. The remaining sections of the book discuss roadblocks to asset building and how to overcome them, moving toward an asset mindset, and resources for asset building, categorized for parents, schools, communities, religious congregations, and young people. (HTH)