Jack Gantos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jack Gantos
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| Born | July 2, 1951 Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Emerson College |
| Genre | comics |
| Notable works | Rotten Ralph series Jack Henry series Joey Pigza series Hole in My Life Dead End in Norvelt |
| Notable awards | 2011 Newbery Medal |
Jack Gantos (born July 2, 1951) is a famous American author. He writes many popular children's books. You might know him from his characters Rotten Ralph or Joey Pigza.
Rotten Ralph is a very mischievous cat. He stars in about twenty picture books. These books were written by Gantos and illustrated by Nicole Rubel. They were published between 1976 and 2014.
Joey Pigza is a boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He is the main character in five novels. These books came out from 1998 to 2014.
Jack Gantos has won several big awards for his writing. He received the 2012 Newbery Medal. This award is given by the American Library Association (ALA). It recognized his book Dead End in Norvelt as the best children's book of the year.
Dead End in Norvelt also won the 2012 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It was even considered for the Guardian Prize in Britain. His memoir, Hole in My Life, was also honored with awards.
Contents
About Jack Gantos
Jack Gantos was born on July 2, 1951. His birthplace was Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. This town is close to Pittsburgh.
He grew up in different places. He lived in South Florida and the Caribbean. He even moved to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands with his parents.
Gantos started writing early in his life. He published his first book, Rotten Ralph, in 1976. This book was the start of a long series.
He has written many books for young readers. He also wrote a memoir called Hole in My Life. This book was published in 2002.
His Work with Nicole Rubel
Gantos began working with Nicole Rubel. She was an art student at the Boston Museum School. Together, they created many picture books.
Rotten Ralph was their first book. It was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1976. They created about twenty picture books in ten years. Many of these were part of the Rotten Ralph series.
Teaching and Mentoring
Jack Gantos also taught others how to write. He was a professor at Emerson College in Boston. He taught creative writing and literature there from 1978 to 1995.
He was also a visiting professor at other universities. These included Brown University and the University of New Mexico. He helped create special programs for writing children's books. These programs were at Emerson College and Vermont College.
Awards and Honors
Jack Gantos has received many awards for his books. Here are some of them:
- Best Books for Young Readers citation, American Library Association (ALA), for the "Rotten Ralph" series.
- Children's Book Showcase Award, 1977, for Rotten Ralph.
- Gold Key Honors Society Award, 1985, for Creative Excellence.
- Children's Choice citation, International Reading Association, 1990, for Rotten Ralph's Show and Tell.
- Parents' Choice citation, 1994, for Not So Rotten Ralph.
- New York Public Library Books for the Teenage, 1997, for Jack's Black Book.
- Finalist, 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.
- Newbery Honor, 2001, for Joey Pigza Loses Control.
- California Young Reader Medal, 2002, for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.
- Printz Honor, 2003, for Hole in My Life.
- Sibert Honor, 2003, for Hole in My Life.
- Newbery Medal, 2012, for Dead End In Norvelt.
- Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2012, for Dead End in Norvelt.
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize longlist, 2012, for Dead End in Norvelt.
- Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature, 2014, for his career achievements.
Jack Gantos's Books
Jack Gantos has written many different kinds of books. He writes picture books and novels.
Picture Books
Gantos is known for his picture books. Many of them were illustrated by Nicole Rubel. The "Rotten Ralph" series is very popular.
- Rotten Ralph series by Gantos and Rubel
- Rotten Ralph (1976)— This book introduced the "very, very, nasty cat."
- Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph (2011)— One of the later books in the series.
- Rotten Ralph's Rotten Family (2014)
Novels
Nonfiction
- Hole in My Life (2002)— This is a memoir about his own experiences.
- Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories (2017)
Images for kids
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Jack Gantos, a well-known author of children's books.
