Lisa Ferguson

Tue, Apr 15, 1997 (11:59 a.m.)

Whoever said "Too many cooks spoil the broth" obviously wasn't talking about "Chicken Soup for the Soul."

Sometimes, the more hands you have in the mix the better.

Take it from Hanoch McCarty, an educational psychologist and a co-author/editor of the recently released "A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul" (Health Communications, $12.95).

The best-selling literary meal commenced in 1993 with the original "Chicken Soup," followed by a "2nd Helping," a "3rd Serving," a "Condensed" version and "A Cup of Chicken Soup." Then came soup for the soul at work, for women and for teenagers.

Still hungry? Get your spoons ready: Special collections themed for teachers, Christians, Jews, athletes and animal lovers are already simmering.

The wildly popular inspirational books -- more than 14 million copies sold -- each have 101 stories written or contributed by famous and regular folks from around the globe.

The latest book includes stories by basketball coach Pat Riley, syndicated columnist Bob Greene and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Mark Medoff ("Children of a Lesser God").

It took 18 months to select and edit the anecdotal gems from the stack of 4,000 received (about 150 per week) by McCarty's fellow editors -- wife Meladee McCarty, self-esteem author and lecturer Jack Canfield, and motivational speaker Mark Victor Hansen.

"It's a rather lengthy process," McCarty said recently from his office is Galt, Calif., near Sacramento. "If you look at my eyes right now, they're red-rimmed."

McCarty and his wife will be in Las Vegas on Sunday and Monday, signing copies of "A 4th Course."

The key to compiling the recent edition was keeping the ingredients fresh.

"It's the same format ... (but) the emphases are somewhat different," McCarty says, noting that the chapter "On Parents and Parenting" features more stories penned by fathers than in the past.

What hasn't changed is the book's purpose. "They're about returning hope to people," he says.

"America needs this. We've been so cynical and so negative, maybe it's time we started looking at the good people have in them.

"What happens is our attention always goes toward what wrong (in the world) as opposed to what's right. You're never going to hear, 'Six-thousand teachers reported to work today and they're doing a great job. Film at 11.'

"Good things are happening all over the place. We have found truly caring, upbeat, inspirational stories."

In fact, McCarty wrote six of them. "What's in a Name" is about the "little gift of immortality" he gave to his stepfather, a police detective, by legally taking on his surname.

During his tumultuous teen years, "I made him miserable for a while, but he didn't show it. He tolerated it and he loved me."

He also penned two stories with Meladee, a professional educator, who calls the "Chicken Soup" collection "stories by ordinary people who do extraordinary things."

The couple are also the authors of a trio of books about kindness, including the best-seller "Acts of Kindness: How to Create a Kindness Revolution."

Much like the inspirational fodder found in "Chicken Soup," acts of kindness often go unnoticed, McCarty says.

"This is America. We are the most charitable, loving country, but all you're going to hear about is the kid who holds up the liquor store. I know that crime exists ... but we need to balance it out."

"Chicken Soup," he believes, does just that.

"There's some real beauty in here," he says. "This book is going to touch people. It's to remind us that we're alive."