The Healing of Texas Jake

Texas Jake, the big yellow tomcat with the white belly, has risked his life to save his friends from the huge mastiff known as Bertram the Bad. Now Marco and Polo, the newest members of the Club of Mysteries, find they have an assignment to help Texas Jake recover from his wounds. The other cats have duties too, but somehow Marco and Polo always seem to get the worst of the deal.

Could Texas Jake be a wee bit jealous of Marco, the cat who can "reeeaaad," as Texas is so fond of saying? And if he doesn't recover, who will take his place? Boots? Elvis? Marco? Polo? Which of the cats does Carlotta, the calico beauty, prefer? That's the big question.

Polo wishes they had never left the comfort of their velveteen basket back at the Neals', especially when he learns that he and Marco must venture over to the city dump, hangout of the dreaded Steak Knife and his Over-the-Hill Gang. The Healing of Texas Jake is Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's charming, funny sequel to her best-seller, The Grand Escape.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has lived with a variety of pets in her lifetime -- dogs, guppies, turtles, hermit crabs, goldfish, and cats -- especially two tabbies named Marco and Ulysses, who became Marco and Polo in this book.

She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband, Rex. They have two sons, Jeff and Michael, as well as two granddaughters, Sophia and Tressa. She is the author of over ninety books, including The Grand Escape, the first book about Marco and Polo; Josie's Troubles; Shiloh, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1992, and its sequel, Shiloh Season.