Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns by Mary Quattlebaum

Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns by Mary Quattlebaum

Nothing but a big mess of trouble and weeds.
That's what Jackson Jones thinks of the garden plot his mother gives him for his tenth birthday. What happened to the basketball he's hoped and prayed for all year?
When Jackson comes up with a moneymaking scheme for the garden, it doesn't seem so bad after all. He even cuts his friends in on the action. But before long, Jackson finds out that friends and business don't always mix. When the neighborhood bully calls him Bouquet Jones, Jackson is ready to give up. Maybe gardens don't belong in cities after all.
Winner of the first annual Marguerite de Angeli Prize.

I grew up with three brothers and three sisters, as well as a plethora of pets, and I frequently draw inspiration for stories and poems from my childhood exploits (and misadventures). My current daily routine also serves as a source of inspiration for my work. For example, my first novel, Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns, grew out of a small plot in a city community garden where, like Jackson, the protagonist, I seem to grow more weeds than flowers. The hamster in Jazz, Pizzazz, and the Silver Threads is based on a number of mischievous hamsters that exist in real life. My husband's experiences as a kid magician inspired Jenny's magic blunders in Jazz, Pizzazz and its upcoming sequel, The Magic Squad and the Puppy of Great Potential.

And all of the poems in A Year on My Street are inspired by people and events in my area, from feeding pigeons to listening to the saxophonist. I worked as a research writer/editor for Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC before becoming a freelance writer. I now manage Arts Project Renaissance, a creative authoring program for older persons, and teach creative writing workshops to people of all ages at local schools, libraries, and Georgetown University's continuing education division, in addition to writing children's books. The inaugural annual Marguerite de Angeli Award for middle-grade fiction was awarded to Mary Quattlebaum's debut novel, Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns.

Jazz, Pizzazz, and the Silver Threads, as well as its companion, The Magic Squad and the Dog of Great Potential, due out in March 1997, and A Year on My Street, a First Choice Chapter Book for younger readers, are among her other works. She graduated with a B.A. with a B.A. from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. from the University of Virginia Georgetown University is where I got my bachelor's degree.

She has been published in Children's Digest and Ladybug, as well as various literary magazines, and is a recipient of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Novel in Progress/Judy Blume Grant. Her husband and she live in Washington, DC.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780385311656
ISBN 10	0385311656
Title	Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns
Author	Mary Quattlebaum
Series	Jackson Jones
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Delacorte Press
Year published	1994-01-01
Number of pages	113
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable