When Marian Uhlman made a life-changing decision in 2005 to leave her job as public health writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, I asked her what her next step would be. Perhaps it was a bit unfair to ask so soon, but Marian had a vision. She already had been volunteering at her daughter’s elementary school, putting together a school newspaper that taught young kids about the principles of journalism while promoting health and nutrition. She saw the joy of students learning how to interview, write down what they learned, check the facts, and ask about both sides of any argument. It seemed to be a great learning experience. Today, this idea is known as Healthy NewsWorks and has spread to about a dozen elementary and middle schools in the Philadelphia area. Some 200 kids are researching, interviewing, and writing stories focused on health, safety, fitness, and nutrition. In their quest for stories, students have moved beyond their school borders, taking trips to national public health meetings and even attending a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conference on obesity in Washington, D.C. And with the temerity only kids can broker, they interview leaders of these organizations for their opinions and ask tough questions that kids want to know. The latest step for these students is this book of interviews with leaders in our area who are making a difference in people’s lives. Among the topics you’ll learn about are: • Why music is good for health. • Why it is better to walk away rather than fight. •  What motivates someone to work with hungry people. •  How a little girl with cancer and a lemonade stand changed the world. Of course, it wouldn’t be Healthy NewsWorks if the student journalists didn’t also ask these leaders how they personally stay healthy. The skills these kids have learned—interviewing, researching facts, and writing it down in a timely fashion—are ones every student should learn. Enjoy the book and revel in how these remarkable kids manage to pry out some nuggets that you only wish you were smart enough to ask. — Walter Tsou, M.D., M.P.H. Philadelphia Why this book