A Milwaukee native, Laura Anne Bird graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in English. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, three big kids, and little dog. When she’s not reading, writing, or reviewing books, she loves to exercise and explore the outdoors.
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Marvelous Jackson is a follow-up to her middle grade debut, Crossing the Pressure Line, which garnered awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Midwest Independent Publishers Association, and the Arts + Literature Laboratory's Wisconsin Writers Awards program.
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Join Laura on Instagram @laura_at_the_library, where she celebrates all things literary.
A Message From Laura
If you've read Crossing the Pressure Line, you probably remember Jack Wilson. He follows Clare and her friends around all summer, stirring up trouble and giving everyone a headache. He's an unlikeable character, for sure, but I was sure there was more to his story.
I was right!
When Marvelous Jackson begins, Jack has taken his mischief too far and is faced with the possibility of unbearable consequences—like being sent away to Davy Crockett Institute of Outdoor Learning in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He knows it’s time to make a big change, because he'll never survive being forced to live like a pioneer.
Through an unexpected turn of events, Jack rediscovers the love of baking he shared with his mom when she was alive, and he throws himself into learning the finer points of sprinkles and scones. He decides to apply for the big-hearted, world-famous Marvelous Midwest Kids Baking Championship television show in Chicago, even though he knows his journey there will be tough and twisty.
I fell in love with Jack while writing Marvelous Jackson, and I hope you come to adore him, too. I think his story is perfect for kids for who love to bake, who feel like they don’t fit in, or who are trying to figure out what hobbies fill them with joy.
