Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
``Every success story has a beginning,'' opens this story, winner of the publisher's first annual prize for middle grade fiction. ``But I wonder if those great folks knew when they had taken the first step down that road. Like there was a sign: GREATNESS--Next Right.'' Quattlebaum's first-person narrator, Jackson Jones, hooks readers at the start with his humorous, street-smart style. Jackson can hardly believe it when his mother buys him a plot in the community garden for his birthday instead of a basketball. But then the resourceful 10-year-old devises a plan: he will grow flowers to please Mama, then sell them and buy himself a basketball. Unfortunately, tending a garden and starting a business is no bed of roses, and Jackson winds up having to dig himself out of some real trouble. But Jackson finally gets what he wants, and when he looks back, he realizes that ``mixed in with trouble was some good garden stuff.'' A host of colorful characters and their lively banter keep the bloom on these pages. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 6-10.
