The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza

Joey Pigza is back in his fifth hilarious adventure, with illustrations by David Tazzyman.

The Pigza series is a poignant examination of modern dysfunction

Joey takes on his toughest set of challenges yet in this heart-rending, triumphant series finale

Features all of the drama, havoc, and heart readers have come to expect, dread, and love

Joey Pigza stays with you long after the last page has turned

Jack Gantos was born in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and has spent time living in Barbados and South Florida. He has written books for readers of all ages, including the acclaimed Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and its sequels, the teenage novel Desire Lines, and the youthful memoire Hole in My Life. 
 
His is also the writer of Dead End in Norvelt and From Norvelt to Nowhere, a pair of semi-autobiographical novels about the importance of history and reading, the first of which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2012. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts.

Joey Pigza Loses Control

A brilliantly funny and poignant sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.

Like its predecessor, this high-voltage, honest novel mixes humour, pain, fear and courage with deceptive ease

Brilliant comic writing tinged with the poignancy of reality

A sad, scary, blackly funny sequel . . . A triumph

Gantos creates scenes of comic genius . . . Joey is an endearing character who should run and run

Jack Gantos (Author) Jack Gantos was born in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and has spent time living in Barbados and South Florida. He has written books for readers of all ages, including the acclaimed Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and its sequels, the teenage novel Desire Lines, and the youthful memoire Hole in My Life. 
 
His is also the writer of Dead End in Norvelt and From Norvelt to Nowhere, a pair of semi-autobiographical novels about the importance of history and reading, the first of which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2012. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts. David Tazzyman (Illustrator) Dermot Milligan is eleven, obese and has just started at Big School. He's a big fan of The Lord of the Rings, and he hates his evil sisters, Ruby and Ella (Rubella). His all-time favourite donut is the classic ring, but he's also very keen on jam.

Joey's dad is well and truly wired! 
 
After months of nagging, Joey Pigza is finally allowed to spend the summer holidays with his dad. But he soon finds out why Mom was so worried. If people think Joey has problems, they should meet his dad! 
 
Joey's dad insists he can cope without medication and that Joey can too. Joey so wants to believe his dad is right - but Joey remembers just how manic he felt before he got help. Can Joey live life his dad's way - or will the chaos take over?

What Would Joey Pigza Do?

The third book in the hilarious Joey Pigza series, with new illustrations from the brilliant David Tazzyman.

Joey finally comes to terms with himself in this funny, touching and totally endearing story

A funny, tender and soul-searching presentation of the relationship between Joey and his dying grandmother. This third Joey story is upbeat, warm-hearted and delightful

Joey . . . is an impossible, contradictory, glorious creation

'Joey Pigza, you need a life!' 
 
Grandma wants Joey to find a friend, stop running around after his NUTTY parents, and start looking after himself. But Joey's got other plans - he's going to be MR HELPFUL. 
 
Can Joey the secret superhero suceed in his mission to keey everybody SMILING?

I Am Not Joey Pigza

Brilliant fourth book in the Joey Pigza series with new illustrations by the fantastic David Tazzyman.

Meet Joey Pigza . . . A great kid who is funny and thoughtful and, yes, wired

Written with energetic, breathless, non-stop gusto

Funny, tender and soul-searching . . . Upbeat, warm-hearted and delightful

The latest heartwarming story about this likeable character has you once again so fully immersed in his thoughts and actions there are moments when you want to shout out to him to stop him making a mistake

Everything changes for Joey when his crazy, long-lost dad returns home after a lucky lottery win. Now they're rich, Carter Pigza truly believes that his family can start a whole new life and that means embarking on a brand new career running a busy diner - and changing their family name from Pigza to Heinz. Can Joey handle becoming Freddy? And how does he really feel about the fact that he's going to become a big brother?

Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key

A high-impact, very appealing story about a boy who just can't sit still.

It is a tremendous achievement to incorporate so much understanding and explanation into a cracking good story. I found it a vivid and startling book

One of the funniest recent publications . . . Written with the energetic, breathless, non-stop gusto of the main character

Its wit, verve and strong story make it a fascinating read

[This] could easily become required reading for anyone who works or lives with children and for any child who enjoys brilliant comic writing tinged with the poignancy of reality

The reader will quickly be engaged by the gritty honesty of this character who has a great deal of moral courage . . . Joey Pigza stays with you long after the last page has turned

Joey is a good kid, maybe even a great kid, but his teachers never know what he's going to do next. He sharpens his finger in the pencil-sharpener and swallows his house key. He can't sit still for more than a minute - Joey is buzzing! 
 
Told from Joey's own unique viewpoint by acclaimed American author Jack Gantos, this is an exceptionally funny and touching story about a boy with severe attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Desire Lines

A startling teenage novel about moral choices.

Desire Lines has both depth and meaning and explores the more serious side of life in an accessible, interesting way

It is moving and memorable. . . Most of all, it is the analysis of Walker's own self-doubt, anxiety and pain that makes this such a raw if depressing novel

A darker, older read, which encompasses good, evil, resistance to temptation, homophobia and the collapse of civilisation . . . written in a prose as assured as Scott Fitzgerald's

A well-crafted, thoughtful and enjoyable book

Sixteen-year-old Walker has accidentally discvered that two female classmates are lovers. When a rabid evangelical preacher arrives in their town, a witch-hunt is launched against gay students and Walker, for some reason, is the prime target. Walker knows the quickest way to divert the attention would be to give away the girls' secret - but should he sacrifice their peace of mind for his? A powerful, unusual and thought-provoking read from an award-winning author.

Jack Gantos

Peppered with literary references [. . .] Add to this a Bonnie and Clyde style road trip in a camouflaged VW Beetle and you might get a hint of the fun and philosophy at the heart of this murder mystery

This town is haunted by more than just ghosts . . . 
 
 When Jack dresses up as a notorious local murderer for Halloween, he thinks he’s found the perfect costume to scare away evil spirits. But when the real murderer returns and another old lady dies, he starts to worry that he might not be showing the best judgment. 
 
Together with Miss Volker, the last remaining original Norvelter, Jack sets out on a road trip through the dark side of America’s history to track down the killer once and for all. 
 
Will they save Norvelt? Or are they going nowhere? 
 
From Norvelt to Nowhere is Jack Gantos’s hilarious follow-up to Dead End in Norvelt, winner of the Newbery Medal and shortlisted for the 2012 Guardian Children’s Prize.

Jack Gantos

Praise for From Norvelt to Nowhere

Peppered with literary references [. . .] Add to this a Bonnie and Clyde style road trip in a camouflaged VW Beetle and you might get a hint of the fun and philosophy at the heart of this murder mystery

Books by Jack Gantos

Series by Jack Gantos

Joey Pigza

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter