Mary Quattlebaum's first book, Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns, is the winner of the first annual Marguerite de Angeli Prize for middle-grade fiction. She has also written Jazz, Pizzazz, and the Silver Threads; its companion, The Magic Squad and the Dog of Great Potential, to be published in March 1997; and A Year on My Street, a First Choice Chapter Book for younger readers. She received a B.A. from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. from Georgetown University. Recipient of the Novel in Progress/Judy Blume Grant from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, she has been published in Children's Digest and Ladybug, as well as several literary magazines. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband.