Jazzy's Quest: What Matters Most - Softcover

Jazzy's Quest: What Matters Most is written by authors Juliet C. Bond, LCSW and Carrie Goldman. This is the second of the Jazzy's Quest book series. Juliet C. Bond, LCSW writes for children, and is a Development Director at Literature for All of Us. She has also been an adjunct professor at Columbia College in Chicago for ten years. In 2014, she founded her own non-profit, COPE. Her first book, Sam's Sister, first published in 2005, and has sold over 50,000 copies, and is currently being updated for re-release in late 2016. She went on to collaborate with Newberry winner Joyce Sidman to publish the stage adaptation of This is Just to Say and has stories and poetry in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Juliet's shorter works can be found online in the SCBWI Prairie Wind, at StoryStudio Chicago and The Copperfield Review. Juliet serves as the Welcome Coordinator for The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in Illinois. Carrie Goldman is the award-winning author of Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear (Harper Collins, August 2012). Bullied has received a National Parenting Publication Award and a Mom's Choice Award, both at the gold medal level, for excellence in educational skills and tools. Carrie has written for The New York Times, CNN, Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Adoption.net, Babble, Alternet, and more. She has made appearances on NPR, BBC, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, Fox, HLN, and numerous other media outlets. In addition to her expertise in bullying dynamics, Carrie writes one of the nation's premier adoption blogs, Portrait of an Adoption, which has followers in more than 45 countries.

"This second Jazzy's Quest is wonderful in so many ways. It thoughtfully addresses important social issues that all of us should be dealing with, not just tweens. It normalizes the diversity of families in our world today. And it's a very entertaining, well-written book that's page-turningly enjoyable to read."    
- Adam Pertman, author of Adoption Nation and President of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency

"With dynamic, colorful prose, and wonderful, relatable characters, the Jazzy's Quest series will delight middle-grade readers and their parents alike. These hip, fast-paced books sparkle with thoughtfulness and depth while exploring difference, belonging, race, family, adoption, friendship, and a multitude of everyday tween trials and triumphs.  Like Jazzy herself, each book is a unique gem."
 -Jillian Lauren, bestselling author of Everything You Ever Wanted. 

"Jazzy's Quest: What Matters Most is an engaging story that addresses for young readers friendship issues, diversity, inclusion, and more in such a sensitive and compassionate way. Love this!"
-Trudy Ludwig, bestselling author of The Invisible Boy and Confessions of a Former Bully

"I'm adopted, and I like Jazzy because the book shows how people learn to accept others for who they are."
- Samuel, age 12, adoptee

"'What matters most' for Jazzy is at the heart of this book about friendship, social striving, and exclusionary behavior in elementary school. Jazzy learns that even through mistakes--or perhaps especially through mistakes--there can be redemption, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a friend. In her quest to resolve her dilemma, Jazzy shows the reader the beauty and complexity of friendship."
-Lori Day, author of Her Next Chapter: How Mother-Daughter Book Clubs Can Help Girls Navigate Malicious Media, Risky Relationships, Girl Gossip, and So Much More

"As an adoptive parent with a blended family through adoption, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a chapter book that both my daughter and I could read together. I am encouraging everyone here to take check out this series - adopted or not, there's something for everyone."
- Veronica Chenik Gilmore, adoptive mother

"Jazzy's Quest: What Matters Most covers adoption, history, and honesty in a way that is both engaging and accessible to early gradeschoolers. Jazzy's Quest will both entertain and open a doorway into some important conversations with your kiddos!"   
-Addison Cooper, Adoption at the Movies

"Carrie Goldman & Juliet Bond are able to weave a story in such a way that the reader is educated about the life and emotions of a foster/adoptive child without sacrificing a top-notch storyline. This book is a must for parents, caregivers, teachers, or anyone that would like their child to better empathize with others."
- Darren Fink, Transfiguring Adoption

"Jazzy's Quest is an awesome book! I love how much it relates to my life! I was 9 when I read it, am Honduran-American, and was adopted as a baby by my parents who are not Hispanic." 
- Bella, age 10