Bibliography Gantos, Jack. 2000. JOEY PIGZA LOSES CONTROL. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0439338743
Plot Summary
Joey Pigza, an extremely active young boy, is on his way to spend the summer with his dad whom he has not seen in many years. His dad, Carter, has the same little problem that Joey has...HYPER! But, his dad is trying very hard to get his life a little more calm. Joey's dad wants to get to know his son. Joey’s grandmother also lives with her son, she has just as many problems as her son, just in a different way. She's just as bad for Joey as his dad, smoking every breath and cohersting Joey to buy cigaretts for her over the phone!
During Joey's visit, his dad decides that neither one of them need their medicine patches any more! Carter's pataches are a little different than Joey's...one is for smoking. He decides that neither one needs their hyperactivity patch either! The story unflods as Joey sees himself return to his old troubled self. He knows there is a problem and he's losing control. Joey know that the things that he has starting doing again are just not right, but he can't seem to stop now.
Critical Analysis
The story takes place in Pittsburgh a large but unglamorous city, perfect for the average guy. A general sense of time is indicated with the presence of a cell phone, but not everyone has one and the use of patches to treat smoking and hyperactivity. The theme, however, gives timelessness to the book. Children can always relate to Joey’s struggle with his hyperactivity and the problems of a child from a divorce. Joey is constantly aware of the power his ADHD plays in his life. With his medication he can deal with it, but is still very aware of the role it plays. When his dad takes away the patches, he knows this is wrong, but has a difficult time accepting that his dad made a bad choice for him and cannot tell his mom right away. Gantos is able to portray this through Joey’s voice and make it all seem plausible.
The characters are real people from the lower middle class with many day-to-day struggles. The mother works hard at a beauty shop, has no car insurance, an expired driver license, and is raising an overly active child on her own. Dad has the same problems with over activity and it has stunted his maturing. He has guilt over abandoning his son and wants to make amends, yet he cannot get beyond his own feeling. Joey want to understand and know a past he missed, but his dad is uncomfortable with talking about the bad things that have happened and won’t. Although he tries to change he cannot give up drinking and is currently doing community service for biting another man’s nose. He also abandons the nicotine patches he uses at the start of the story. He becomes obsessed with Joey helping his baseball team win a championship, yet he is not able to realize that Joey must have his medication to function productively. He has not changed or grown up.
Grandma is sick with emphysema and appears to be weak, but she is a wise old woman with much too offer. She informs Joey early on that things are not all good and that if he wants to stay he should not tell his mom everything that happens. She understands about his hyperactivity and comes up with ways to funnel it, such as going to the park and having him chase golf balls. She talks to him about the possibility that he may think he can get his parents back together and suggests that he not go there. She is not the picture of a typical coddling grandmother; she rides in a grocery cart and speaks roughly to him.
The story is told through Joey’s voice which makes it truly a kid’s story. We get to hear a running dialog of his views on everything that happens. For an overactive boy, he does some deep thinking and sees things pretty maturely. His first day alone with his grandma he decides to be nice to her, determining that it was up to him, the child, to set the mood. He also wishes that his mom could realize that Grandma is not all bad. When she gets tangles up in her oxygen cord and scrapes herself up, he calmly gets her home and cleans her up. Joey wants to get to know and admire his dad and tries real hard. He quickly learns that his dad likes to talk about the future, not the past, nor does he listen much. He worries when his medicine patches are thrown away, but works hard to control his behavior and believe that his dad is right about him not needing it. At times he feels like there are 2 Joey's; one for mom and one for dad. This is a good insight into determining who you are. The struggle gets too hard for him and he tries to tell his mom, but he is not successful. This is a lot for a kid to deal with. As the baseball season winds down and he has proven to be a good pitcher all the pressure and lack of medication overwhelms him. He falls apart at the last game and knows it is time to contact mom. He cannot succeed alone, he knows he needs his medication and someone who supports him – mom.
As I read this book I could see so many child that have passed through my class struggling with ADD or ADHD. Many times their parents didn't want to face the fact that there was an answer, but it wasn't the one that they wanted to hear from their doctor.
Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly
First introduced in Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Gantos's hyperactive hero Joey Pigza has not lost any of his liveliness… Like its predecessor, this high-voltage, honest novel mixes humor, pain, fear and courage with deceptive ease. Struggling to please everyone even as he sees himself hurtling toward disaster, Joey emerges as a sympathetic hero, and his heart of gold never loses its shine. Ages 10-up.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-8-At the end of Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Farrar, 1998), this endearing, but incredibly challenging kid was adjusting to his new medicine patches for his ADHD. Now he is flung from the frying pan into the fire when he visits his father and grandmother for the summer. ... Readers will be drawn in immediately to the boy's gripping first-person narrative and be pulled pell-mell through episodes that are at once hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately heartening as Joey grows to understand himself and the people around him. The ride home isn't smooth, but it is hopeful and loving. Does this mean that he is on the way to a happy, "normal" life? As Joey himself would say, "Can I get back to you on that?"-Starr LaTronica, Four County Library System, Vestal, NY
Connections
Other Joey books
Gantos, Jack. 1998. JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY. ISBN: 0-374-33664-4
Gantos, Jack. 2007. I AM NOT JOEY PIGZA. ISBN: 0-374-39941-7
Have students write an essay on a time when they felt out of control. How did they handle it?
The story takes place in Pittsburgh a large but unglamorous city, perfect for the average guy. A general sense of time is indicated with the presence of a cell phone, but not everyone has one and the use of patches to treat smoking and hyperactivity. The theme, however, gives timelessness to the book. Children can always relate to Joey’s struggle with his hyperactivity and the problems of a child from a divorce. Joey is constantly aware of the power his ADHD plays in his life. With his medication he can deal with it, but is still very aware of the role it plays. When his dad takes away the patches, he knows this is wrong, but has a difficult time accepting that his dad made a bad choice for him and cannot tell his mom right away. Gantos is able to portray this through Joey’s voice and make it all seem plausible.
The characters are real people from the lower middle class with many day-to-day struggles. The mother works hard at a beauty shop, has no car insurance, an expired driver license, and is raising an overly active child on her own. Dad has the same problems with over activity and it has stunted his maturing. He has guilt over abandoning his son and wants to make amends, yet he cannot get beyond his own feeling. Joey want to understand and know a past he missed, but his dad is uncomfortable with talking about the bad things that have happened and won’t. Although he tries to change he cannot give up drinking and is currently doing community service for biting another man’s nose. He also abandons the nicotine patches he uses at the start of the story. He becomes obsessed with Joey helping his baseball team win a championship, yet he is not able to realize that Joey must have his medication to function productively. He has not changed or grown up.
Grandma is sick with emphysema and appears to be weak, but she is a wise old woman with much too offer. She informs Joey early on that things are not all good and that if he wants to stay he should not tell his mom everything that happens. She understands about his hyperactivity and comes up with ways to funnel it, such as going to the park and having him chase golf balls. She talks to him about the possibility that he may think he can get his parents back together and suggests that he not go there. She is not the picture of a typical coddling grandmother; she rides in a grocery cart and speaks roughly to him.
The story is told through Joey’s voice which makes it truly a kid’s story. We get to hear a running dialog of his views on everything that happens. For an overactive boy, he does some deep thinking and sees things pretty maturely. His first day alone with his grandma he decides to be nice to her, determining that it was up to him, the child, to set the mood. He also wishes that his mom could realize that Grandma is not all bad. When she gets tangles up in her oxygen cord and scrapes herself up, he calmly gets her home and cleans her up. Joey wants to get to know and admire his dad and tries real hard. He quickly learns that his dad likes to talk about the future, not the past, nor does he listen much. He worries when his medicine patches are thrown away, but works hard to control his behavior and believe that his dad is right about him not needing it. At times he feels like there are 2 Joey's; one for mom and one for dad. This is a good insight into determining who you are. The struggle gets too hard for him and he tries to tell his mom, but he is not successful. This is a lot for a kid to deal with. As the baseball season winds down and he has proven to be a good pitcher all the pressure and lack of medication overwhelms him. He falls apart at the last game and knows it is time to contact mom. He cannot succeed alone, he knows he needs his medication and someone who supports him – mom.
As I read this book I could see so many child that have passed through my class struggling with ADD or ADHD. Many times their parents didn't want to face the fact that there was an answer, but it wasn't the one that they wanted to hear from their doctor.
Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly
First introduced in Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Gantos's hyperactive hero Joey Pigza has not lost any of his liveliness… Like its predecessor, this high-voltage, honest novel mixes humor, pain, fear and courage with deceptive ease. Struggling to please everyone even as he sees himself hurtling toward disaster, Joey emerges as a sympathetic hero, and his heart of gold never loses its shine. Ages 10-up.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-8-At the end of Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Farrar, 1998), this endearing, but incredibly challenging kid was adjusting to his new medicine patches for his ADHD. Now he is flung from the frying pan into the fire when he visits his father and grandmother for the summer. ... Readers will be drawn in immediately to the boy's gripping first-person narrative and be pulled pell-mell through episodes that are at once hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately heartening as Joey grows to understand himself and the people around him. The ride home isn't smooth, but it is hopeful and loving. Does this mean that he is on the way to a happy, "normal" life? As Joey himself would say, "Can I get back to you on that?"-Starr LaTronica, Four County Library System, Vestal, NY
Connections
Other Joey books
Gantos, Jack. 1998. JOEY PIGZA SWALLOWED THE KEY. ISBN: 0-374-33664-4
Gantos, Jack. 2007. I AM NOT JOEY PIGZA. ISBN: 0-374-39941-7
Have students write an essay on a time when they felt out of control. How did they handle it?
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