Alice Mead – författare

Junebug hasn''t seen his friend Robert since the family moved from their housing project in May. It''s Labor Day weekend, reunion time, and Mama, Tasha, Harriet, and Junebug are off to the beach. Robert is there, but so is Trevor, another boy from the project. Trevor is a gang member; Trevor has a gun. With Junebug gone, Trevor has easily befriended Robert. Robert might even join Trevor''s gang, the Rex. How can Junebug stop him? At the same time, Junebug wonders about his own father, who''s been imprisoned for more than six years. Junebug longs to know him, to know that he''s innocent – and that if he''s not, Junebug won''t necessarily turn out like him.With all the spunk with which he made his dream come true in Junebug and assimilated a whole new life in Junebug and the Reverend, Alice Mead''s ten-year-old hero sets out to save his friend and understand his father. Junebug in Trouble is a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children''s Book of the Year.

A single parent is suddenly called to serve in the Persian Gulf War.In early August 1990, eleven-year-old Jasmyn Williams is shocked when her mother, a member of the Army Reserve, is called to active service. Within thirty-six hours, she is gone. Jas and Andrew, her baby half brother, are left in the care of her mother''s boyfriend, Jake, who has never been responsible for Andrew, much less Jas. At first Jas is filled with anger. Then, despite the sacrifices she must make, including precious basketball practice, Jas comes to understand that her mother has to do her job. Still, she wonders, should a mother have a job that might require abandoning her children? Alice Mead, always an advocate for children, takes a firm stand on their behalf even as she creates a heroine who could probably adjust to anything.