Books with author Marie-Danielle Croteau

Fred's dad loves stinky cheese-in fact, he loves the stinkiest cheese of them all: La Crotte du Diable, the Devil's Droppings. This cheese is so foul it puts out candles, it make table-legs shake. So when Jake, a smart-alecky new kid at school, turns Fred's best friend William against him, Fred plans his revenge-a plan based on the unique power of the Crotte. Soon Jake is haunted by a strange reek, and the kids who ran to him head in the other direction. Fred and the Stinky Cheese is a hilarious story about friendship-how we lose it, and what we'll do to get it back.

For two whole years Fred has dreamed of getting a pet cat. He has even given his dream cat a name-Rick. But Fred's parents own a fish market, and for them buying a cat would be like hiring a shark as a lifeguard. Nevertheless, when they inform Fred there will soon be a new arrival at their house, he gets excited-until he learns they mean a new brother or sister. Fred ends up loving his brother Paul, but he still wants a cat. When he visits his best friend William's farm, he finally gets to see cats in action; he also finds a foolproof reason to have one at home. Fred's Dream Cat is a lively, touching story about how one boy's patience pays off in the end.

Fred is going to spend the weekend of the Saint Yaya agricultural fair with his friend William. This year, William and his pig Omer are going to participate in the big race. Unfortunately, on the morning of the race, William is sick. Fred quickly decides to replace him. But how can he win the race when he has never ridden a pig? This hilarious story shows that telling the truth is always the best idea.

Fred is not pleased to be in hospital-with a broken arm and two broken legs he can't even look out the window and watch the snow fall. When his grandmother Jackie comes to visit, he tells her what has happened, beginning with how he and and his dear cat Rick went to visit their friend William in the village of Whippy Corners. Whippy Corners is world-famous for its giant pumpkins, and William's dad has grown the biggest of the all-a pumpkin as big as a car. Soon Fred finds himself riding inside the enormous vegetable in the Halloween Parade, when an unexpected encounter with a big limousine brings disaster. In the end, though, Jackie arrives to make things right. is a hilarious and touching story of childhood misadventure, and of the power of family to heal all wounds.

Fred's dad owns a fish market, but still he wants to go fishing on his day off. Soon Fred, his dad, and Fred's cat Rick are sitting in a hut on a frozen river, pulling fish after fish through a tiny hole in the ice. The day is going nicely, until the ice breaks with a deafening crack and Fred and Rick find themselves alone on an ice floe in the middle of the river. As they await rescue, Rick amuses Fred with tricks; while Fred, scared, remembers advice his dear grandmother once gave him. As the long night passes, Fred tries to understand her hard sayings about growing up. When rescue finally comes the next morning, he's grown up a little himself. Fred on the Ice Floes is a touching story that shows how crisis can carry unexpected benefits.

When Fred and his dear cat Rick visit Fred's grandmother in Vancouver, Rick starts acting very strangely. He doesn't want to play, doesn't want to eat, and he stays out all night long. Fred's convinced that someone is bewitching Rick, so one night he sets out with his grandmother and his new friends to find out where Rick has been going. When they track him down, Fred finds not a witch, but a fairy princess named Smaranda. And he finds Rick has been doing some very important-and very strange-work of his own. Fred's Midnight Prowler is a story about the fears that can rise in active imaginations, and how reality can be stranger and more beautiful than we imagine.

When Fred gets a letter from his friend Lola, object of his secret crush, he is too excited to open the letter immediately. Unfortunately his cat Rick shreds the letter before Fred can read it and he cannot make sense of it when he tries to put it back together. His grandmother offers to help him unravel the mystery and puts his hopes and dreams back together. This story of hope and perseverance is also one of quirky humour.