Joey Pigza
Swallowed the Key
By:  Jack Gantos

Published By:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1998

---

Web Page Information Compiled By:  Molly Hauck, Amy Jordan, Jacquline Reedy, Sabrina Sins, Julie Smith

return to top

---

Book Talk

    Joey Pigza is a young boy who has ADD and is hyperactive.  Joey has good intentions but everything he does turns disastrous.  As a child, his mother and father abandon him so he is left to live with his grandmother who is emotionally abusive.  Joey is on medication to control his behavior, however, when the "dud meds" wear off Joey increasingly becomes "wired."  One minute he is quiet and the next minute he is out of control. After a few horrible events happen in Mrs. Maxy's class, Joey is sent to Mrs. Howard's room, the special ed classroom. One of the bad decisions Joey makes is when he tries to sharpen his finger in the pencil sharpener.  Next, he practices putting his house key, that hangs from a string, down his throat in order to pull it back out.  His teacher takes the key from him and cuts the string.  When Joey attempts to put the key down his throat again, he swallows the key.  What will Joey do next and what will the consequences be?  Read on to find out what Joey will do next in this humorous, fun filled novel by Jack Gantos.

Jack Gantos:
    Jack Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. When he was in first grade he was in the Bluebirds reading group which he later found out was the lowest group.  To this day he would rather be called a Bluebird than a slow reader.
    When he was seven years old his family moved to Barbados.  The schools there focused a lot on reading and writing.  By the fifth grade he had managed to learn 90 percent of what he knows today. Later he moved to south Florida where he found that the children were uninterested in their studies and the teachers spent most of their time on discipline.  Jack spent most of his time at an abandoned bookmobile.  His greatest wish was to replace a nearby trailer park with a bookmobile park.
    Jack's idea of a writing career started in fifth grade when he read his sister's diary and realized he was a better writer than her. He then proceeded to get his own diary and wrote things that he heard outside the teacher's lounge and from their lunchtime conversations.  He later included many of these things in his stories.
    In High School he decided that he would become a writer but, he would have to wait until college before he could actually do more than write in his diary.
    In college, he and a friend of his, Nicole Rubel, began working on picture books.  After numerous rejections, in 1976 they composed their first book, Rotten Ralph.  This is what really began Jack's writing career.
    Jack continued writing and began to teach courses in writing children's books and children's literature.  He developed a children's book writing masters course at Emerson College.  Today he teaches at the Vermont College M.F.A. program for children's book writers.

These ideas are general and would have to be refined to suit the grade level and the particular students:

Art--

• Draw your favorite scene or character from the story.
• Create a background for a play of "Joey Pigza."

Writing--

• Write a story or make a journal entry through the perspective of Joey.
• Keep a reader's response journal as you are reading.
• Research ADHD and write a paper on what you learned.
• List and write about six character traits that make you a unique individual.

Discussion--

• What things could Joey have done differently to try to stay out of trouble?
• What is the theme or moral of the story?
• How do you think Joey felt when he was sent to another school?
• How do you think Joey feels about his life?
• What are some characteristics you have in common with Joey?
• What did you learn about ADHD that you may not have known before?

Creative Dramatics--

• Do a reader's theater scene from "Joey Pigza."
• Act out a scene or several scenes from "Joey Pigza."
• Have a mock trial with your classmates to decide if Joey should be sent to another school.  Be sure to include Joey's principal, teachers, classmates, mother, and Joey himself at the trial.

Math--

• Interview your classmates on their favorite parts of "Joey Pigza and graph the results.

Social Studies--

• Create a map of the places Joey goes to in his neighborhood.
• Create a timeline of the things that have happened in Joey's life so far.
• Create your own family tree to understand your family background.

Books by Jack Gantos:

Desire Lines
Published by Farrar Straus & Giroux (1997)

Zip Six : A Novel
Published by Bridge Works Published Co (1982)

Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth Grade
Published by Farrar Straus & Giroux (1999)

Jack on the Tracks: Four Seasons of Fifth Grade
Published by Farror Straus & Giroux (1999)

Jack's Black Book
Published by Farror Straus & Giroux (1997)

Jack's New Power: Stories from a Caribbean Year
Published by Farror Straus & Giroux (1995)

Back to School for Rotten Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Harpercollins Juvenile Books (September 1998)

Happy Birthday for Roten Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Sandpiper (September 1994)

The Christmas Spirit Strikes Rotten Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Harpercollins Juvenile Books (October 1998)

Not So Rotten Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton Mifflin Co (1994)

Rotten Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton Mifflin Co (1976)

Rotten Ralph's Halloween Howl
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Harpercollins (1998)

Rotten Ralph's Rotten Christmas
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton (1984)

Rotten Ralphs Rotten Romance
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton (1997)

Rotten Ralph's Show and Tell
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton (1991)

Rotten Ralph's Thanksgiving Wish
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Harperfestival (1999)

Rotten Ralph's Trick or Treat
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton (1986)

Rotten Ralph, with Book
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton (1993)

Wedding Bells for Rotten Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Harpercollins (1999)

Worse Then Rotten, Ralph
Illustrated by Nicole Rubel
Published by Houghton Mifflin Co (1982)

Related Books:

All About Attention Deficit Disorder
Published by Child Management (1998)

Attention Deficit Disorder:  Helpful, Practical Information: Guide for Parents & Educators
By:  Elaine K. McEwan
Published by Harold Shaw Publications (July 1995)

Shelley, the Hyperactive Turtle
By: Deborah M. Moss
Illustrated By: Carol Schwartz
Published by Woodbine House (November 1989)

Otto Learns About His Medicine:  A Story About Medication for Children With ADHD
By: Sandy Ferraro
Illustrated By: Matthew R.  Galvin
Published by Magination (October 1995)

Zipper, the Kid with ADHD
By: Caroline Janover
Illustrated By:  Rick Powell
Published by Woodbine House  (1997)

1.  Go to website http://www.cdipage.com/adhd.htm

2.  Review the website

3.  Answer the following questions:

A.  Define Attention Deficit Disorder
B.  Name 5 famous people with ADD
C.  Name and describe a treatment for ADD
D.  Name two support organizations for ADD
E.  Describe the causes of ADD
F.  In one paragraph describe what you learned from this website

• Review of Joey Pigza http://www.ala.org/booklist/v95/youth/de2/61gantos.html
• www.washburn.edu/mabee/booktalks/swallowed.html
• http://go.borders.com/fcgi-bin/part?PID=1...26mediaType%3DBook%26searchType3DISBNUPC