Books with author MaryQuattlebaum

Ben Watson has been shuffled from foster home to foster home since he was 5 years old. Seven homes in six years. He’s gotten used to blanking folks out, leaving them behind, and waiting for the day when he can leave foster care forever. Now, at the age of 11, Ben’s just arrived at home number eight. But he’s finding it hard to blank out the Torgles, his new foster parents, and their house full of strays: the 7-year-old twins, Kate and Jango, and the baby, Grover G. Graham. Grover’s just over a year old and always getting into trouble, but Ben can’t help liking the little guy — especially since Grover was abandoned by his teenage mother, just like Ben was. The only difference is that Grover’s mother, Tracey, is still trying to get custody of her child. But Ben is convinced Tracey will abandon Grover again. So when he gets the chance to escape from the system, Ben takes it. And he takes Grover with him.

To Calvin Hastings, days after school at Alfred Ludlott's house are the pits. Sure, Alfred has a big lawn and a dachshund named Fitz. But Calvin's talented and gifted younger brother, Monk, and his bossy, overachieving neighbor, Jenny Teitletot, are getting on his nerves! No wonder Calvin jumps at the chance to visit the local humane shelter with Alfred's neighbor, Dr. Jamar.At the humane shelter, Calvin falls in love with Train, a big, loud, friendly dog with "great potential." Calvin has got to find Train a home--but where? His apartment building won't allow dogs or cats, Dr. Jamar is already fostering a pet, and Alfred Ludlott has Fitz. Calvin's just about ready to give up when he finds out that Train isn't the only one with "great potential."

Jackson Jones can't get away from roses. First his mother got him a plot at Rooter's, a community garden, where Jackson planted a rosebush of thorns and no blooms. Now Mr. K., a fellow gardener, enlists Jackson's help to rustle up some hardier, prettier, sweeter-smelling old-time roses. The kind that grow in cemeteries! But no sooner do Jackson and his good friend, Reuben, take the rose cutting home than Reuben's gloom-and-doom talk of curses seems real.Broken bones. Poison ivy. Stinging bees. Jackson doesn't want to believe that anyone who comes in contact with the cemetery roses or cut twig suffers any of these consequences. But could it be that by taking the cutting, Jackson places his friends, Rooter's, and even himself--gulp!--under the curse of the outlaw rose?

Who's afraid of Fred the ghost? Unfortunately, no one!Fred the ghost is perfectly happy haunting his lonely old New Orleans house until Pierre and his daughter Marie move in and turn the house into . . . (horrors!) . . . a restaurant. They clean up his beloved dust. They fix the house's squeaks and leaks. And as much as Fred clanks and groans and haunts and moans, not one single diner is scared away. In fact, no one even notices him. Is it time for Fred to find a new home?A hungry ghost in more ways than one, Fred satisfies develops a taste for friendship—and beignets—in this deliciously satisfying New Orleans tale.

Basketball-loving Jackson Jones never wanted any part of Rooter’s, the community garden where his mother got him his very own plot for his 10th birthday. But he made the best of it, even planting a thorny rosebush. Now, after months of watering, weeding, and waiting, red roses have finally bloomed. So when Jackson learns that big city developers want to bulldoze Rooter’s, he can’t believe it. The garden means something to him, and he likes hanging out with the neighbors who tend their own plots. But what can Jackson do?With unasked-for help from well-meaning friends—and going to great lengths to avoid a fearsome bully who loves to taunt him—Jackson sets out to save Rooter’s. But coming up with a winning strategy isn’t so easy.From the Hardcover edition.