Jackson Jones, Book 1: The Tale of a Boy, an Elf, and a Very Stinky Fish

by Jennifer L. Kelly, Ariane Elsammak (Illustrator)

Overview

Sometimes you have to get lost to figure out where you're going. All Jackson wants is to be the hero, just for once in his life. The hero who steps in at the last minute to save the universe. The hero who saves the entire village from a raging fire. Great Aunt Harriett is always telling him find his own story, but so far his story doesn't seem very exciting. Until he falls into Great Aunt Harriett's hair, that is. There Jackson will encounter a world of elves, trap doors, bubblegum-blowing birds, hairy-backed spiders, kangaroo meat, and perilous danger which requires … a hero.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310722847
Publisher:	Zonderkidz
Publication date:	08/27/2011
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jenn Kelly lives in Ottawa, Canada, but her heart lives in Paris. Or Hawaii. She hasn’t decided yet. She is an undercover garden guru, painter, and chef, which has absolutely nothing to do with this book. She won a writing award in grade 4, failed English Lit in university, spent many years writing bad poetry, and then decided to write a book. This is it. She is married to her best friend, Danny, and is mom to a five-year-old boy and a dog who worries too much. She embraces the ridiculousness and disorganization of life.

Read an Excerpt

Jackson Jones, Book 1

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By Jennifer Kelly

Zondervan

Copyright © 2010 Jennifer Kelly
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-72284-7

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Chapter One

The First Chapter

Jackson didn't know it yet, but in a faraway place, closer than he could imagine, a little creature was sighing in frustration.

This little creature was sighing because she had absolutely no idea what to do. This wasn't a surprise in itself, especially if you knew her. She never had any idea what to do.

The trap door was shut.

Locked, in fact.

It wasn't supposed to be locked.

It was supposed to be unlocked.

And wide open.

She was supposed to unlock it and open it, so that it would no longer be locked and unopened.

But given that Meeka was just that kind of elf, she had forgotten the key.

So there she stood, at the top of a thirty-foot ladder, trying to unlock a trap door with a dead, smelly fish.

Chapter Two

No Longer the First Chapter

Jackson rolled over and opened his eyes. He looked at the clock. Still early. His eyes closed. He began to dream again, but then something tickled his mind. What was so important about today?

Oh yes.

Family reunion day.

Chapter Three

A Chapter that Has a Secret in It

Jackson had a lot of family members.

That didn't mean his dad had four arms or his aunt had twelve legs, but what it did mean was there were a lot of people in his family.

He had a mom, a dad, one brother, one sister, seven aunts, eight uncles, and twenty-four cousins. They were a close family. Jackson saw his family all the time. What with birthdays, anniversaries, soccer games, talent shows, science fairs, and vacations, life was ... insane. And Christmas was just an imbroglio, as you can imagine. (Imbroglio is like when you're playing tag with twenty other kids ... in the kitchen ... and your mom is cooking ... and the dog just threw up.)

However (and this is a rather large however, meaning you are about to read something that is a big deal, so pay attention), HOWEVER, Jackson had just moved. Not just him, but his entire family. Not all of his aunts and uncles and cousins and all of their imbroglios, but just Jackson and his mom, dad, brother, and sister. Not only did they just move, but they moved far, far away. This meant no more imbroglios for a while.

Of course Jackson should have been mad. But as hard as he tried to be mad, he couldn't be. You see, Jackson's mom was a writer. And not just any writer, but a really good one. Not only was she a really good writer, she was also a kind-hearted writer. This meant she didn't turn into one of those writers who demand first-class treatment everywhere they go, like demanding steak and chocolate ice cream on a plane when they are only serving peanuts. But because Jackson's mom was such a good writer, she had to do research in a place that was far away. But the reason Jackson couldn't be mad was because he understood. He understood how important writing was to his mom ... because writing was important to him.

You see, Jackson had a secret. A secret only he and his mom knew about.

Jackson wanted to be a writer too.

Every Sunday night, after church was finished and the huge lunch was finished and they had all gone for a healthy walk, admiring trees and ponds and silly little ducks, after everyone had gone into their own rooms to just "take it down a notch," Jackson would go into his mother's studio, sit in the huge leather chair, and drink hot chocolate while she read his stories and talked to him as a writer, but with the kind heart of a mom. Sometimes they would talk about important things, like what he would write about next, about the clouds they had seen that day, and about how fast he was growing. Maybe growing fast isn't important to a ten-and-a-half-year old, but it's always important to a mom. And sometimes they would talk about unimportant things, such as ... well, actually, there's no such thing as unimportant things to talk about.

But I suppose you're wondering more about Jackson.

Jackson was an average-looking ten-and-a-half-year-old boy. He was a little on the small side. He had blondish-brown hair and his eyes were a bluish- grayish-greenish brown. He did have very straight teeth, however, which meant he had a very nice smile.

Jackson was in sixth grade. Yes, he should have been in fifth grade, but after a ten-minute coffee break (which included an unpleasant piece of fruitcake), the principal decided Jackson would be in sixth grade. They had more desks, you see. That was a ridiculous decision of course, but one makes ridiculous decisions when eating unpleasant cake. Wars have been known to break out over leaders eating dry sponge cake, and there is speculation that King Henry VIII had his fifth wife disposed of because she served him plain white cake instead of the raspberry he craved.

So Jackson didn't really fit in at his new school. All of the other kids had known each other for a long time and Jackson was the new kid. And he was the smallest. He got picked last for games at recess. He made the baseball team only because they were short a player. And when he did play, I'm sorry to tell you, he was terrible. And he knew he was terrible.

Jackson loved to read. It passed the time at recess when he didn't feel like being picked last that day. He also loved writing stories. Oh, the stories he'd written! Jackson was always the hero, of course.

The unassuming hero who stepped in at the last minute to save the universe.

The unassuming hero who saved the entire village from a raging fire.

The unassuming hero who saved the cat up the tree, received a medal from the mayor, and got a thank-you parade that included those old guys who drove around in little cars.

The unassuming hero who could figure out algebra.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Jackson Jones, Book 1 by Jennifer Kelly Copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Kelly. Excerpted by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

1. The First Chapter....................11
2. No Longer the First Chapter....................13
3. A Chapter that Has a Secret in It....................15
4. A Chapter that Involves an Awful Mishap with a Kangaroo....................19
5. A Very Hairy Chapter....................21
6. In Which We Learn about Diplomacy....................25
7. In Which This Book Begins....................27
8. In Which This Book Really Begins....................29
9. In Which There Will Be Absolutely No Crying....................35
10. In Which Nothing Makes Sense....................37
11. In Which We Meet Meeka and Her Dead, Smelly Fish....................41
12. In Which the Tour Begins....................45
13. In Which We Enter the Book Room....................47
14. The Chapter after That....................51
15. In Which There Are Too Many Books (As if That's Possible)....................55
16. In Which There Is Frustration, Annoyance, Irritation, and Exasperation....................63
17. In Which We Find a Doorknob....................65
18. In Which We Visit the Cafeteria....................67
19. In Which There Is a Lot of Meat....................73
20. WARNING: There Is Throw Up in This Chapter!....................77
21. In Which There Is an Important Conversation....................81
22. ANOTHER WARNING: This Chapter Has Gargantuan, Hairy-Backed Spiders in It!....................85
23. A Really Short Chapter....................89
24. A Rather Long Chapter....................91
25. In Which There Is a Bathroom Break....................99
26. In Which Jackson Cannot Believe His Eyes....................101
27. A Very Sticky Chapter....................103
28. A Chapter with Lots of Shrieking (Perhaps You Should Put in Earplugs before Continuing)....................107
29. In Which There Is a Great Deal of Important Talk. Also, Feathers....................111
30. In Which We Need a Key. Do You Happen to Have One We Could Borrow?....................113
31. In Which We Meet a Scowl....................115
32. A Chapter That Has Many Portraits....................117
33. In Which Jackson Wonders if He's Losing His Mind....................123
34. In Which Nothing Particularly Important Happens....................125
35. In Which Something Small Happens....................127
36. In Which There Is Another Room....................129
37. In Which We Learn about the Book, the Author, and Fred the Turtle....................131
38. A Chapter that Is Not Nearly as Long as the Last One....................145
39. I Bet You Thought I Forgot....................147
40. In Which There Is a Secret....................149
41. In Which the Writer Prepares You....................153
42. A Chapter that Requires a Key Again....................155
43. In Which the Story Continues....................159
44. A Chapter that Is Terribly Mean....................161
45. A Chapter that Is Even More Mean....................163
46. In Which No One Can Find a Light Switch....................165
47. A Chapter that Explains a Lot....................167
48. In Which the Quest Begins....................179
49. A Chapter that Involves More Questing....................181
50. A Very Gloomy Chapter....................185
51. In Which a Hero Is Needed....................189
52. In Which Steps Are Taken to Become a Hero....................191
53. A Chapter that Is a Little Scary....................193
54. In Which a Hero Is Born....................197
55. In Which We Wait for Death....................199
56. In Which We Meet Another Hero....................201
57. In Which No One Dies....................203
58. In Which There Is a Great Deal of Dancing....................205
59. In Which Meeka Is Bossy....................209
60. In Which Jackson Hurries....................211
61. In Which No Questions Are Answered....................213
62. In Which a Heart Hurts....................215
63. In Which Things Are Not as They Seem....................219
64. A Chapter that Explains the Author ... Even More!....................223
65. In Which Jackson May Drink Bugs....................233
66. In Which They Rush Home....................237
67. In Which Jackson Hits the Floor....................239
68. A Chapter that Has a Key, a Book, and a Picture....................241
69. In Which Jackson Has an Idea....................243
70. A Chapter that Involves the High Price of Lattes....................247
71. A Chapter that Involves Anticipation, a Car Ride, and Cow Poop....................249
72. A Chapter that Has More Words in the Title than in the Chapter....................251
73. In Which a House Is Found....................253
74. In Which Birds Are Very Loud....................257
75. In Which Jackson Finds Another Door....................259
76. A Chapter that Involves Another Place....................261
77. In Which We Learn More....................263
78. In Which We Learn Even More....................265