Synopses & Reviews
Jack's life is a crazy roller-coaster ride. At his fifth school in six years, he has a crackpot teacher who wont give him a break about his lousy handwriting and a secret crush who wants to be a policewoman. At home, he has a pesky little brother with a knack for breaking an arm whenever Jack's supposed to be looking after him, a terror for an older sister who mocks his belief in UF)s, all sorts of weird neighbors, and, last but not least, ferocious alligators in the canal behind his house.
Writing in his diary about his good days and bad days is one way Jack survives his up-and-down year. but he's also a kid who knows that life can go any which way at any given moment. He might as well flip a coin: heads he wins, tails he loses, What will turn up next? Jack Gantos has written many picture books and novels, most recently Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor Book. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife and daughter. Jack's life is a crazy roller-coaster ride. At his fifth school in six years, he has a crackpot teacher who won't give him a break about his lousy handwriting and a secret crush who wants to be a policewoman. At home, he has a pesky little brother with a knack for breaking an arm whenever Jack's supposed to be looking after him, a terror for an older sister who mocks his belief in UFOs, all sorts of weird neighbors, and, last but not least, ferocious alligators in the canal behind his house.
Writing in his diary about his good days and bad days is one way Jack survives his up-and-down year, but he's also a kid who knows that life can go any which way at any given moment. He might as well flip a coin: heads he wins, tails he loses. What will turn up next? "The author of the offbeat Rotten Ralph picture books makes an auspicious foray into new ground with this semi-autobiographical, wholly engaging novel. His narrator, Jack, travels through the often poignant moments that highlight his sixth-grade year."Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
“Laugh-out-loud funny . . . The author has bulls-eye accuracy in capturing the private torments of a twelve-year-old.” —The Buffalo News
“As real as it gets.” —The Book Report
“The author of the offbeat Rotten Ralph picture books makes an auspicious foray into new ground with this semi-autobiographical, wholly engaging novel. His narrator, Jack, travels through the often poignant moments that highlight his sixth-grade year.” —Starred, Publishers Weekly
“Jacks a survivor, an ‘everyboy whose world may be wacko but whose heart and spirit are eminently sane . . . Gantos is a terrific writer with a wonderfully wry sensibility.” —Starred, School Library Journal
Synopsis
From the Newbery Medal-winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, eight more hysterical semi-autobiographical Jack Henry stories about a sixth graders trials and tribulations
Jacks life is a crazy roller-coaster ride. At his fifth school in six years, he has a crackpot teacher who wont give him a break about his lousy handwriting and a secret crush who wants to be a policewoman. At home, he has a pesky little brother with a knack for getting hurt whenever Jacks supposed to be looking after him, a terror for an older sister, all sorts of weird neighbors, and, last but not least, ferocious alligators in the canal behind his house.
Writing in his diary about his good days and bad days is one way Jack survives his up-and-down year. But hes also a kid who knows that life can go any which way at any given moment.
Synopsis
From the Newbery Medal-winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, eight more hysterical semi-autobiographical Jack Henry stories about a sixth graders trials and tribulations
About the Author
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, Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor book, and Dead End in Norvelt, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Scott ODell Award for Historical Fiction.
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 Jacks writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sisters 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 Jacks career as a professional writer. Jack continued to write childrens books and began to teach courses in childrens book writing and childrens literature. He developed the masters degree program in childrens book writing at Emerson College and the Vermont College M.F.A. program for childrens book writers. He now devotes his time to writing books and educational speaking. He lives with his family in Boston, Massachusetts.
Table of Contents
Copycat -- My brother's finger -- Candy Itani -- Rabies -- Donna Lowry -- Death and taxes -- My brother's arm -- Cocoa beach.