Chicken Soup for the Soul
Encyclopedia
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speaker
s Jack Canfield
and Mark Victor Hansen
.
There have been over 200 titles. Many of the books are directed at specific groups of people, such as Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Relationships, and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad.
The series has spawned a number of imitators and parodies including Chicken Soup for the Vegetarian's Soul and MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head
: Chicken Soup for the Butt, as well as a line of licensed products, including greeting card
s, calendars, gift products, pet food
, clothing, games, DVD
s, and Bible
s. A parody can also be found within the PC game A Vampyre Story
: a book titled Chicken Soup For Those Without A Soul is in the library. In 1999, Jessica Zafra
released a parody of the book called Chicken Pox For The Soul, full of cynical suggestions such as "While being madly in love is fun, perhaps one should aspire to be sanely in love".
The name "Chicken Soup For The Soul" was chosen for this series because of the use of chicken soup
as a home remedy for the sick, and therefore it was "good for the body." The inspirational stories included in this series were meant to be "good for the soul."
From 1993 to 2008, Chicken Soup for the Soul books were published by Health Communications, Inc. In 2008, the founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, sold a major stake in the company to a new ownership group led by William J. Rouhana and Robert D. Jacobs. All the latest titles in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series (beginning in 2008) are published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, and distributed by Simon & Schuster
. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC also licenses the right to use its trademark to licensees through IMG.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC launched an umbrella entertainment division, Chicken Soup for the Soul Presents, which struck a deal with Screen Media Films
to distribute family-friendly movies on DVD, home video and video on demand
.
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
s Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield is an American motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, which currently has nearly 200 titles and 112 million copies in print in over 40 languages...
and Mark Victor Hansen
Mark Victor Hansen
Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series....
.
There have been over 200 titles. Many of the books are directed at specific groups of people, such as Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Relationships, and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad.
History
The first book sold millions of copies and launched the series. There are now over 100 million copies in print and in 54 languages worldwide. The Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series, consisting of over 14 titles, is one of the first series of non-fiction books which have sold directly to teens in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.The series has spawned a number of imitators and parodies including Chicken Soup for the Vegetarian's Soul and MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
: Chicken Soup for the Butt, as well as a line of licensed products, including greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
s, calendars, gift products, pet food
Pet food
Pet food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food...
, clothing, games, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, and Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s. A parody can also be found within the PC game A Vampyre Story
A Vampyre Story
A Vampyre Story is a 2008 point-and-click adventure game developed by Autumn Moon Entertainment for Windows, published by Crimson Cow. The game is set in Europe during the 1890s, and follows a young female opera singer turned vampire as she attempts to make the journey back home to Paris in search...
: a book titled Chicken Soup For Those Without A Soul is in the library. In 1999, Jessica Zafra
Jessica Zafra
Jessica Zafra is a fiction writer, columnist, editor, publisher and former television and radio show host. She is known for her sharp and witty writing style...
released a parody of the book called Chicken Pox For The Soul, full of cynical suggestions such as "While being madly in love is fun, perhaps one should aspire to be sanely in love".
The name "Chicken Soup For The Soul" was chosen for this series because of the use of chicken soup
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made by bringing to a boil and then simmering chicken parts and/or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such...
as a home remedy for the sick, and therefore it was "good for the body." The inspirational stories included in this series were meant to be "good for the soul."
From 1993 to 2008, Chicken Soup for the Soul books were published by Health Communications, Inc. In 2008, the founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, sold a major stake in the company to a new ownership group led by William J. Rouhana and Robert D. Jacobs. All the latest titles in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series (beginning in 2008) are published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, and distributed by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC also licenses the right to use its trademark to licensees through IMG.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC launched an umbrella entertainment division, Chicken Soup for the Soul Presents, which struck a deal with Screen Media Films
Screen Media Films
-Selected Films:*Noel *Intimate Affaires * *The City of Your Final Destination...
to distribute family-friendly movies on DVD, home video and video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
.