Be Healthy! It's a Girl Thing: Food, Fitness, and Feeling Great [Paperback]

Mavis Jukes (Author), Lilian Wai-Yin Cheung (Author), Debra Ziss (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2003 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: It's a Girl Thing

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-This upbeat book offers girls going through puberty advice on nutrition, fitness, self-image, and appearance. The authors claim that following their Cactus Plan, which is largely based on the food pyramid model, will increase energy and concentration, improve sports ability, reduce stress, and improve one's looks. Readers are encouraged to take charge of their choices, and to recognize marketing gimmicks. The plan offers a balanced diet along with guidelines for physical activity, hydration, and rest. Most adolescents will need a support network of family and friends to make these ideas a reality, but the book offers the inspiration to get started and sufficient information for reference along the way. "You can do it!" is the battle cry. Tina Schwager and Michele Schuerger's The Right Moves: A Girl's Guide to Getting Fit and Feeling Good (Free Spirit, 1998) includes more direct information on improving self-image, including journaling activities, as well as more specifics on exercise and fitness, but speaks to the same audience and goal.
Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Jukes, now joined by Wai-Yin Cheung, a doctor and registered dietician, continues to enlighten adolescent girls on the physical and emotional aspects of going through puberty with this companion to Growing Up: It's a Girl Thing: Straight Talk about First Bras, First Periods, and Your Changing Body (1998). The authors promote their own guidelines in the form of "The Cactus Plan" (think food pyramid), which encompasses food, exercise, and other lifestyle choices. Much of the information--drink six to eight glasses of water per day, eat balanced meals, etc.--kids have heard ad nauseam. But given the alarmingly high rates of eating disorders, girls definitely need to hear some of the straight talk more often: "During puberty in girls, fat tissues increase as part of breast development. Hips and thighs change in size and shape. . . . Expect it. It's normal." A chapter devoted to advertising is also helpful in countering the unrealistic images portrayed in the media. Girls may not always like what they read here, but this kind of information can go a long way in helping them accept and understand the inevitable changes occurring in their bodies. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (December 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679890297
• ISBN-13: 978-0679890294
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 0.4 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > For Children

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too much of a negative lecture, October 24, 2005

By 

Jim Champlin (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be Healthy! It's a Girl Thing: Food, Fitness, and Feeling Great (Paperback)

My daughter was turned off by this book because it said all the things not to do and insufficient focus on what to do.

It took less than an hour for her to set it aside. We need books that motivate kids to do the right thing, not lecture them

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional pick for health collections catering to pre-teens, January 24, 2011

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be Healthy! It's a Girl Thing: Food, Fitness, and Feeling Great (Paperback)

Be Healthy! It's a Girl Thing: Food, Fitness, and Feeling Great offers advanced elementary to middle school readers - girls ages 10 and up - a fine blend of exercises, diet, and keys to lowering stress labels and caring for body and soul. This newly updated edition is packed with the latest expert details on food and nutrition and makes for an exceptional pick for health collections catering to pre-teens.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Be you, March 24, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Be Healthy! It's a Girl Thing: Food, Fitness, and Feeling Great (Paperback)

No matter what your frenids think about you just be your self your frenids will like you better