WE WANT TO BE KNOWN: Learning from Adolescent Girls, a collection edited by Ruth Shagoury Hubbard, Maureen Barbieri, and Brenda Miller Power, Stenhouse Publishers, York, 190 pages, paperback, $18.50.

I read something recently that really scared me. If you have daughters, it should frighten you, too. When 2,600 girls were asked if they were happy with the way they were, 60 percent of the elementary school girls and only 29 percent — less than one-third — of the high school girls replied in the affirmative.

My daughters, Amber, 9, and Katie, 6, have robust self-images. They participate eagerly and energetically in school and Sunday school, tackle the playground and gym with vigor, pose unself-consciously for photographs, speak up on issues ranging from the quality of cafeteria food to Bill Clinton’s moral conduct, sing joyfully in children’s choir, and plan and carry out raising projects for UNICEF. I want them to get through their preteen and teen years with their spirit, happiness, and confidence intact.

Fortunately, the same book that provided the scary statistics details ways to help girls navigate the rocky passages of growing up. “We Want to Be Known,” edited by Ruth Shagoury Hubbard, Maureen Barbieri, and Brenda Miller Power, is a collection of descriptions by teachers of strategies they have used to empower young women, and reflections by teens on their life experiences.

Teacher Jill Ostrow confronts “I’m NOT sittin’ by no girl” prejudice in a middle class, suburban school. Maureen Barbieri helps recently immigrated Chinese girls gain time with adult mentors. Sharon Frye deals with male resentment when she designs a curriculum to engage middle school girls and give them a safe environment for speaking up. Karen Karp integrates stories with strong female protagonists in her mathematics class to encourage girls to become risk-taking, confident problem solvers. Jennifer Tendero’s inner city students make serious decisions about their own futures as they research and write a booklet on teen pregnancy.

The reflections by young women are poignant. Jessica Zarins is ridiculed for buying her jeans at the “wrong” place. Khalilah Joseph is called “tar baby” and “blackie” when she decides to become an actress or model. Erika Miller endangers her health through overzealous dieting.

The resources section alone is worth the price of the book. There is an annotated bibliography of books for teachers (and parents!) and peer recommended books for young women and an extensive listing of books with strong female protagonists. Many of these can be powerful springboards for insightful parent-child dialogue.

Power, a University of Maine associate professor of literacy education, says that girls in Maine face similar problems as girls growing up in other parts of the country. “There’s a lot of concern about girls’ aspirations, that they aspire to go anywhere their talents take them. Of course teen pregnancy is really an issue in Maine. And there’s the general issues of finding a voice and being assertive and not being afraid to take risks.”

Power believes that Maine girls have special assets. “There’s a wonderful girls’ group run by Valerie Osborne in Old Town. I think there is awareness of the need for mentors. As a whole, class sizes are smaller here than in other places. The crime rate is lower. There is more informal mentoring here to teen girls than in other places.”

Power advises parents of 8- to 10-year-old girls to look beyond their daughter’s criticisms. “They may seem to shut down from you. But there’s a lot of research that shows that girls want and need adult mentors now more than ever. So even if they’re slamming the door in your face or mocking you for not using the right slang, realize that they really want you to keep reaching out to them.”

Power would like teachers and parents reading “We Want to Be Known” to gain an awareness of the societal pressures that push girls to develop unhealthy attitudes and make bad choices. “If you are aware of some of those pressures for girls to conform to really rigid stereotypes then you can speak against them and look for examples where you learn of women who have broken out of these stereotypes and live successful, happy lives.”

Power has a 5-year-old daughter. “I’m going to continue to look for more information about the best ways to raise her to be her own person and not a stereotype of what adolescent girls should be.”