high jumper Life is full of twists and turns, choices, and challenges. Each choice leads to a different path. Each path presents challenges that allow you to prove yourself—to test your abilities and find new strengths within yourself. Reading about the experiences of others—real people and fictional characters—allows you to see how others test their skills and prove their abilities in challenging situations.

Check out the Additional Questions, Hot Links, Internet Activities, Reading Strategies, and Self-Tests for this unit using the navigation bar at the left.
Table of Contents
Paul Zindel from The Pigman & Me Autobio-graphy 182

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve Thunder Butte Short Story 194

Rudyard Kipling Mowgli's Brothers Short Story 210

Comparing Literary Works
Julia Alvarez Names/Nombres Essay 224
Judith Viorst The Southpaw Short Story 229
Arnold Adoff Alone in the Nets Poem 232

Comparing Literary Works
Ogden Nash Adventures of Isabel Poem 246
Gwendolyn Brooks I'll Stay Poem 247
Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benét Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright Poem 248
Langston Hughes Dream Dust Poem 250