Jack Gantos

Jack Gantos
Award
  • National Book Awards Finalist
  • Newbery Medal Winner
  • Newbery Honor Book

Jack Gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. His works include Hole in My Life, a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert Honors, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, a National Book Award Finalist, and Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor book.
 
Jack was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and when he was seven, his family moved to Barbados. He attended British schools, where there was much emphasis on reading and writing, and teachers made learning a lot of fun. When the family moved to south Florida, he found his new classmates uninterested in their studies, and his teachers spent most of their time disciplining students. Jack retreated to an abandoned bookmobile (three flat tires and empty of books) parked out behind the sandy ball field, and read for most of the day. The seeds for Jack’s writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister’s diary and decided he could write better than she could. He begged his mother for a diary and began to collect anecdotes he overheard at school, mostly from standing outside the teachers’ lounge and listening to their lunchtime conversations. Later, he incorporated many of these anecdotes into stories.
 
While in college, he and an illustrator friend, Nicole Rubel, began working on picture books. After a series of well-deserved rejections, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph, in 1976. It was a success and the beginning of Jack’s career as a professional writer. Jack continued to write children’s books and began to teach courses in children’s book writing and children’s literature. He developed the master’s degree program in children’s book writing at Emerson College and the Vermont College M.F.A. program for children’s book writers. He now devotes his time to writing books and educational speaking. He lives with his family in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Jack Gantos thanks 2012 Newbery Committee

Jack Gantos thanks the 2012 Newbery Committee for selecting DEAD END IN NORVELT as the winner!

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Jack Gantos Talks Audiobooks

Bestselling YA author Jack Gantos talks about audiobooks and the challenges of reading his book Dead End in Norvelt aloud.

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Dead End in Norvelt Book Trailer

Has Jack's summer hit a dead end?

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Author Jack Gantos talks about his book Dead End in Norvelt

Bestselling young adult author Jack Gantos discusses his book, Dead End in Norvelt, reading audio books and other favorite topics.

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Rotten Ralph Helps Out
Rotten Ralph Helps Out
Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers
Jack Gantos; Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Square Fish

Rotten Ralph’s attempts to help Sarah with her school project on ancient Egypt are now repackaged in a brand-new format for beginning readers.


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Available 2/28/2012
What Would Joey Pigza Do?
What Would Joey Pigza Do?
Joey Pigza
Jack Gantos
Square Fish

Joey’s trying to make friends—with the meanest girl he knows.


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I Am Not Joey Pigza
I Am Not Joey Pigza
Joey Pigza
Jack Gantos
Square Fish

Joey’s world is turned upside down when his deadbeat dad wins the lottery.


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Dead End in Norvelt
Dead End in Norvelt

Jack Gantos
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical...


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Joey Pigza Loses Control
Joey Pigza Loses Control
Joey Pigza
Jack Gantos
Square Fish

In this Newbery Honor winner, Joey finds out his dad is just as wired as he is.


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Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Joey Pigza
Jack Gantos
Square Fish

In this National Book Award finalist, Joey Pigza tries hard to be a good kid trapped in a wired body.


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Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph
Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph
Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers
Jack Gantos; pictures by Nicole Rubel
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

On the Flying Squirrels baseball team, Rotten Ralph dreams of becoming a superstar but ignores Sarah's example of working hard to learn the fundamentals....


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Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph
Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph
Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers
Jack Gantos; Pictures by Nicole Rubel
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

"Themes of jealousy, boasting, cheating, and getting one's comeuppance are all touched on ij this second book in the easy-reader series." --School Library...


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The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs

Jack Gantos
Square Fish

Love is a terrible and wonderful thing.


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