New Releases by Mavis Jukes

Illus. in full color. "Timid Alex strives to be like his rugged cowboy stepfather, and the two find a common bond when Alex ''rescues'' Jake from a wolf spider. Jukes'' quiet observations are unfaltering in their perceptiveness. Radiant full-page pastel illustrations serve as a striking counterpoint. This is an uplifting celebration of a new family''s understanding, acceptance and love that resonates with truth and humor."--(starred) School Library Journal.

When almost-nine-year-old Carson Blum and his father move to Northern California, he is worried about adjusting to his new, large, public school and finding friends.

"Austin''s visit to his grandmother''s is the first since Grandpa died. Austin notices Grandpa''s things but feels the emptiness of his absence. This spare story vividly captures the emotions of painful times and shows how they ease with sharing and remembering. Boy and grandfather were close, but boy and grandmother seem destined to be just as close, with Grandpa''s memory to bind them. Poignant and perceptive, this has impressive resonance, and readers won''t easily shed its warm afterglow."--(starred) Booklist.

When Colton’s mom tells him that they’re moving from Idaho Falls to northern California, Colt is sad, but he takes it like a man. At least he’ll have one friend to keep him company – Smoke, the twenty-pound black Maine coon cat that Colt’s dad gave him when he was little. With his dad gone most of the year riding bulls on the rodeo circuit, sometimes it feels like Smoke is their only connection. So when Smoke doesn’t come home after Colt lets him out in the middle of the night, nothing else in Colt’s world seems to matter anymore. But on the dark and stormy evening when Colt sets off alone to find his missing cat, he’s in for more danger than even the son of a fearless bull rider could have dreamed of. A captivating look at cowboys, courage, and community, this is a tender tale about family and friends pulling together, and what it really means to be a man.

Mavis Jukes is here to help girls learn how to be healthy so they can stay healthy. In this newly updated edition, Jukes and co-author Lilian Cheung, D.Sc., R.D. target what girls need to know in order to achieve an active lifestyle and how to avoid the pitfalls of body image issues. Readers will find basic nutritional information; ideas for safe exercising; tips on how to eat right no matter where they are; and lots of other kid-specific information on food, fitness and feeling great. From the Trade Paperback edition.

A young girl pretends she is a bear roaming through the night.

Provides information for boys on changes that occur in their bodies during puberty and offering advice on sexual topics, nutrition, drugs, girls, and more.

A girl preparing to visit her seriously ill uncle in the hospital imagines being a skywriter and flying over his bed with a message of love.

Fourteen-year-old Ashley has her heart set on spending New Year''s Eve 1999 at an exclusive country club party with an Almost Boyfriend, but her plan is endangered by her stepmother and two bratty stepsisters.

As twelve-year-old River and some of her friends work on a handbook for sixth-grade parents, they have to deal with information from the candid Ms. Furley''s sex education lessons as well as the efforts of the class flirt to break up several couples.

Todo lo que te pasa, lo que quieres y lo que sientes... Como conseguir salud y energia. Saber que es ''natural'' o ''normal'' respecto a los cambios que experimenta tu cuerpo, respecto a la ropa, la relacion con los demas, la amistad, el sexo, etc. son asuntos que te interesan. Este libro, lleno de situaciones curiosas y divertidas, te ayudara a conocerte, a saber cuando algo no va bien y a como comunicarlo a los otros y solucionarlo.

Twelve-year-old River and her sixth-grade classmates handle the information from their sex education class in different ways, and it leads River to the conclusion that her older sister''s unusual behavior is due to pregnancy.

A guide for pre-adolescent girls to the changes that puberty brings to their bodies, including information about menstruation.

After she loses her good luck charm, Hanna is pestered by the class bully Bill and decides to try to beat him in the upcoming soap box derby, with the help of an alien lady living next door.

Twelve-year-old River and her sixth-grade classmates handle the information from their sex education class in different ways, and it leads River to the conclusion that her older sister''s unusual behavior is due to pregnancy.

Sonia, who plans to be a veterinarian, finds an ally in her stepmother when her father refuses to let her keep a stray dog for her own.

Independent-minded and angry at being left at home while her parents travel on business, twelve-year-old Iris gives her babysitter the slip; but a disturbing incident makes her realize that she does need her family and friends.

Maggie seems unable to stop the nasty pranks of classmate Corky, and receives differing advice from her divorced parents.

Seven-year-old Emma tries to convince her disbelieving older brother that she is teaching their farm animals to read and speak English.