New Releases by Jane Thayer

People can be Christians for years and yet fail to be growing more Christlike in their character, values, and behaviors. Preaching or teaching the Bible can add knowledge and even provide motivation, but more is needed for real life transformation. The purpose of this book is to teach Christian pastor/teachers and lay leaders how to teach, specifically, how to teach for transformational growth leading toward maturity in Christ. Someone who doesn''t know how to teach and has had no instruction in teaching can take this book and learn how to teach. The book is laser-focused on teaching and specifically, teaching for transformation which is the goal of discipleship. To encourage teaching for transformation, the book presents a unique model of how transformation of worldview occurs and gives strategies to help initiate it.

Elmer, an appealing and industrious elf who cannot be seen by people, finds a way to tell them how they can thank him for all the help he gives them.

Petey the puppy has one wish for Christmas: to have a boy of his very own. But boys are in short supply this year, and he can''t seem to find one who is just right!

Thirty-five million Americans are living beyond the age of sixty-five, a twenty-five year increase in life expectancy since 1900. This longevity, once the gift of a few, has become the destiny of many. This time of life is not just about retiring; in fact many who retire return happily to some type of employment. It is a new stage of life filled with its own unique challenges and opportunities. Co-authors Jane and Peggy Thayer, a mother-daughter team of psychologists, have named this stage of life, ''elderescence.''

A homeless little dog finds supper at one house, a comfortable couch at a second, and breakfast at a third.

You could hardly blame Dexter, ordinarily a well-behaved young dragon, for showing off when he suddenly found that he could make clouds of smoke. The temptation is irresistible, but Dexter quickly becomes insufferable. First he watches his own reflection in the river in order to admire the smoke. Then he puffs it in the faces of his friends: the zebra, the giraffe, and the elephant. He even blows smoke rings around his own tail to prove how clever he is. Soon Dexter has no friends left. He is a very lonely dragon indeed, until quite by accident he discovers a way his talent can be used to win back his playmates. This wonderful story -- first published in 1953 -- will delight both young readers and their parents, and so will Lisa McCue''s appealing new pictures of this lovable show-off.

Gus the ghost neglects his housecleaning chores while Mr. Frizzle is on vacation and fears that this dereliction of duty will cause him and his animal friends to lose their home with Frizzle.

A ghost decides to go to school and learn to spell when a publisher returns his autobiography.

The people try to outwit the clever raccoon who is robbing their garden of delicious fresh corn on the cob.

Gus determines that ghosts needn''t always wear white.

The adventures of Gus the ghost who takes a trip to Mexico.

A cat spends the summer as a back-door member of a fancy beach club, but when the club closes for the winter he finds that his old master and mistress have moved away.

The dinosaur Mary Ann finds has trouble adjusting to the noise of the twentieth century.

The dinosaur Mary Ann finds has trouble adjusting to the noise of the twentieth century.

A ghost and a mouse have a summer house all to themselves while the folks are away for the winter.

First published in the January 1960 issue of Humpty Dumpty under the title: the dog who thought he was a cat.