Jack Gantos

Author profile

born

July 02, 1951 in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, The United States

website

http://www.jackgantos.com/

genre

Children's Books

About this author

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Jack Gantos is an American author of children's books renowned for his portrayal of fictional Joey Pigza, a boy with ADHD. Gantos has won a number of awards, including the Newbery Honor, the Printz Honor, and the Sibert Honor from the American Library Association, and he has been a finalist for the National Book Award. His newest book, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (2006), deals with twins, eugenics, taxidermy (in particular, human taxidermy), and implicit incest.

Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than sh...more Jack Gantos is an American author of children's books renowned for his portrayal of fictional Joey Pigza, a boy with ADHD. Gantos has won a number of awards, including the Newbery Honor, the Printz Honor, and the Sibert Honor from the American Library Association, and he has been a finalist for the National Book Award. His newest book, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (2006), deals with twins, eugenics, taxidermy (in particular, human taxidermy), and implicit incest.

Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.

He moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. He decided to move to complete high school and while staying in a motel a friend introduced him to hash. He soon hooked up with a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English psycho captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The shit hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, which he describes in his novel -Hole in my life-. however he found a plan that involved getting him released in prison and accepted into college. It worked.

He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston, and is now teaching in the Vermont College M.F.A. program for children's book writers.

He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel Grace, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jackga...(less)

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Books by Jack Gantos

Average rating: 3.71 · 12,269 ratings · 2,573 reviews · 45 distinct works

	Dead End in Norvelt 3.64 avg rating — 3,211 ratings — published 2011 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key 3.76 avg rating — 2,988 ratings — published 1998 — 20 editions	My rating:
	Hole in My Life 3.73 avg rating — 1,646 ratings — published 2002 — 15 editions	My rating:
	Joey Pigza Loses Control 3.69 avg rating — 1,255 ratings — published 2000 — 25 editions	My rating:
	What Would Joey Do? 3.91 avg rating — 365 ratings — published 2002 — 14 editions	My rating:
	The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs 3.27 avg rating — 381 ratings — 8 editions	My rating:
	I Am Not Joey Pigza (Joey Pigza Books) 3.64 avg rating — 293 ratings — published 2007 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos, Nicole Rubel (Illustrator) 3.87 avg rating — 129 ratings — published 1976 — 7 editions	My rating:
	Jack's Black Book: What Happens When You Flunk an IQ Test? (Jack Henry, #3) 3.73 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 1997 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth Grade (Jack Henry, #1) 3.56 avg rating — 75 ratings — published 1994 — 6 editions	My rating:

More books by Jack Gantos…

Series by Jack Gantos

Joey Pigza (4 books)
by Jack Gantos

3.75 avg rating — 4,901 ratings

Rotten Ralph (20 books)
by Jack Gantos, Nicole Rubel (Illustrator)

3.76 avg rating — 513 ratings

Jack Henry (5 books)
by Jack Gantos

3.81 avg rating — 279 ratings

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Quotes by Jack Gantos

“...who proved that you don't have to do what your parents want, or what your boyfriend wants, for you to be happy. You just have to be yourself, for there is no love greater than self love”
― Jack Gantos, Dead End in Norvelt

6 people liked it

“If you have an orderly mind, you'll be a winner no matter where you end up. If your mind is a jumble of junk, you'll be a loser. It's as simple as that.”
― Jack Gantos, Jack on the Tracks: Four Seasons of Fifth Grade

5 people liked it

“Someone once said anyone can be great under rosy circumstances, but the true test of character is measured by how well a person makes decisions during difficult times.”
― Jack Gantos, Hole in My Life

tags: decisions , life

4 people liked it

See all Jack Gantos's quotes »

Polls

What Book Shall We Read in November?

I have chosen books that are getting a lot of attention and were published in September and October. Feel free to add books to the list, if they were published in September and October 2011

If you get the chance, check and see what your library has before you vote.

Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

7 votes 20.0%

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

7 votes 20.0%

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

6 votes 17.1%

Bigger than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder

5 votes 14.3%

Breadcrumbs (write-in)

3 votes 8.6%

The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty

2 votes 5.7%

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

1 vote 2.9%

Bluefish by Pat Schmatz

1 vote 2.9%

My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson

1 vote 2.9%

The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

1 vote 2.9%

wonderstruck (write-in)

1 vote 2.9%

35 total votes

2 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Newbery Award...: 2001 Honor - Joey Pigza Loses Control	1	4	Feb 08, 2010 09:38am
Wild Things: YA G...: Fantastic Suggestions for Tweens (6th through 8th grade)	39	49	Jul 01, 2010 07:45am
Wild Things: YA G...: YA Reading Challenge #6: Ideas & Discussion	71	42	Aug 29, 2010 04:33pm
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!	2299	448	Nov 30, 2011 09:05pm
Wild Things: YA G...: Reading Challenge #10: Report Points Here	190	80	Jan 03, 2012 10:01am
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2011: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2912	469	Feb 29, 2012 09:03pm
Mock Newbery 2013: * Newbery 2012 Awards	27	177	Mar 16, 2012 01:16pm
The Ultimate Teen...: AngelaSunshine's UTBGC List	56	72	Apr 11, 2012 07:16am
Wild Things: YA G...: Reading Challenge #11 - Report Points Here	163	138	Apr 11, 2012 05:36pm
One Million Pages...: Stacie's 1,000,000 Pages	41	31	May 07, 2012 02:50pm

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Jack Gantos

Author profile

combine editions
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Series by Jack Gantos

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Quotes by Jack Gantos

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Jack's Fans (64)

Jack Gantos

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Jack Gantos

Series by Jack Gantos

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Jack Gantos

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

combine editions
Books by Jack Gantos