David Borgenicht has survived dozens of childhood nightmares, including the one where you wake up naked in the middle of a test you haven't studied for. He is the creator of the bestselling Worst-Case Scenario series, which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2009! He has co-authored The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Junior Edition, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Extreme Junior Edition, and dozens of other titles in the series. Chronicle Books talked to David about the creation of the brand new Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Middle School and some of his experiences and insights on this transitional time in life.

Chronicle Books: Why did you set out to write a middle school addition to the Worst-Case Series? Do you feel the book will be an important tool?

David Borgenicht: Middle school is pretty much universally acknowledged to be the most difficult time for kids—and I was no exception to the rule. No matter how cool you are in middle school, you run smack into all the difficulties of adolescence during that two- or three-year stint. You're growing in fits and spurts. You're pimply and greasy. You're either too short or too tall, too fat or too skinny. You're neither here nor there. On top of all that, you've got more homework than ever, you've got all sorts of new social pressures, and you're starting to realize that your parents are embarrassments. This book will be an important resource, and an entertaining read for anyone in that zone.

CB: How did you research what middle school is like today?

DB: We worked with all sorts of experts in the subject at hand to get the info we needed—teachers, psychologists, dermatologists—but most importantly kids who are in middle school themselves.

CB: What's your favorite piece of advice or tip from The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Middle School?

DB: It's hard to pick, but for me it's the section on "How to Survive Being the Shortest Guy in School." I wasn't the shortest, but I was somewhat vertically challenged. Humor was my defense—I used the "I'm not short—I'm just not unusually tall" line a lot.

CB: In your bio at the back of the book, you make a reference to painful middle school dodgeball games. What made you such an easy target?

DB: In reality, I was a good dodger, and an obnoxious one at that. I was speedy and could duck and catch, and I lasted long in games. But folks always tried to get me because of that. Plus, I suspect the "You Didn't Get Me" dance I did after didn't help me stay below the radar.

CB: What was your personal worst-case scenario in middle school?

DB: My hair. I didn't like showering, so it was really greasy. And when I was in middle school it was the early eighties, so I had this Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid-esque 'do that didn't help matters.

CB: How did you survive your first middle school crush?

DB: Not well. I had girls who liked me, but they were never the ones I liked. I once "broke up" with a girl I was with because I heard a rumor that this other girl I liked had a crush on me. It wasn't true, and I was left (deservingly) alone.

CB: If you could go back in time and give survival advice to yourself in middle school, what would you say?

DB: Do what you want—not what you think you should do. And stop wearing that burgundy velour sweater so much.

CB: What's the best tip you have for parents of a middle schooler?

DB: Find a way to give your kid the independence he or she so craves without being overprotective. And have the birds and bees talk in 5th or 6th grade—when they won't be embarrassed to have it.

CB: You've chronicled a slew of worst-case scenarios since Middle School Dave grew up. Where do you think middle school ranks on the worst-case spectrum?

DB: For kids, it's right up there at the top—next to your freshman year in high school, and maybe your first year of summer camp.

CB: Can you promise middle schoolers that high school will be a better-case scenario?

DB: I can only promise that yes, it does get better, eventually. But you've got to be prepared for the worst, so that you can weather the storms. The good news is that in high school you've got another chance to reinvent yourself again, so it can be a clean slate.