With the signature wit and humor that have garnered him legions of fans, award-winning author Jack Gantos instructs young writers on using their "writing radar" to find story ideas in their own lives. Charting his own misadventures as an adolescent writer, Gantos inspires readers to build confidence and establish good writing habits as they create, revise, and perfect their stories. Pop-out text boxes highlight key tips, alongside dozens of Gantos's own hilarious illustrations and original stories. More than just a how-to guide, Writing Radar is a celebration of the power of storytelling and an ode to the characters who - many unwittingly - inspired Gantos's own writing career.

They say I'm wired bad, or wired sad, but there's no doubt about it--I'm wired.
Joey Pigza's got heart, he's got a mom who loves him, and he's got dud meds, which is what he calls the Ritalin pills that are supposed to even out his wild mood swings. Sometimes Joey makes bad choices. He learns the hard way that he shouldn't stick his finger in the pencil sharpener, or swallow his house key, or run with scissors. Joey ends up bouncing around a lot - and eventually he bounces himself all the way downown, into the district special-ed program, which could be the end of the line. As Joey knows, if he keeps making bad choices, he could just fall between the cracks for good. But he is determined not to let that happen.
In this antic yet poignant new novel, Jack Gantos has perfect pitch in capturing the humor, the off-the-wall intensity, and the serious challenges that life presents to a kid dealing with hyper-activity and related disorders. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is a 1998 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.

To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription medications wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.

A varied and thought-provoking collection of short stories and poems for teens with a conscience, with striking cover illustrations by award-winning children's laureate Chris Riddell With contributions from Frances Hardinge, Sarah Crossan, Matt Haig, Neil Gaiman and many more. Did you know that ... government spies can turn on your phone and use the microphone to listen to your conversations? ... that lesbian and gay relationships are illegal in 78 countries and can be punished by death? ... that Amnesty recently recorded the highest number of executions globally for more than 25 years? Through short stories and poetry, twenty-five leading authors and illustrators explore the top human rights issues facing young people today. Now is the time to take a stand and make a difference. Full list of contributors: Tony Birch, John Boyne, Sita Brahmachari, Kevin Brooks, Kate Charlesworth, Sarah Crossan, Neil Gaiman, Jack Gantos, Ryan Gattis, Matt Haig, Frances Hardinge, Jackie Kay, AL Kennedy, Liz Kessler, Elizabeth Laird, Amy Leon, Sabrina Mahfouz, Chelsea Manning, Chibundu Onuzo, Bali Rai, Chris Riddell, Mary and Bryan Talbot, Christie Watson and Tim Wynne-Jones.

From the Newbery Medal-winning author of "Dead End in Norvelt," eight more hysterical semi-autobiographical Jack Henry stories about a sixth grader's trials and tribulations

Jack's life is a crazy roller-coaster ride. At his fifth school in six years, he has a crackpot teacher who won't give him a break about his lousy handwriting and a secret crush who wants to be a policewoman. At home, he has a pesky little brother with a knack for getting hurt whenever Jack's supposed to be looking after him, a terror for an older sister, all sorts of weird neighbors, and, last but not least, ferocious alligators in the canal behind his house.
Writing in his diary about his good days and bad days is one way Jack survives his up-and-down year. But he's also a kid who knows that life can go any which way at any given moment.

"Dead End in Norvelt" is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, "Dead End in Norvelt "is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore--typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder.

Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.

"Dead End in Norvelt" is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, "Dead End in Norvelt "is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore--typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launced on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.

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).

Ralph, a very, very nasty cat, finally sees the error of his ways -- or does he?

When the carnival comes to town, the world's favorite fractious feline discovers the hilariously wrong way to victory before he gets it right.

"Illustrated with Rubel's deadpan pictures, this is a prize for newly independent readers, for whom 'practice makes perfect' indeed." --"The Horn Book Guide

""Ralph has his own special niche in the world of children's literature, and now on the easy-reader shelves, too." --"Kirkus Reviews"*

Heroes and Villains, the seventh volume in Jon Scieszka's Guys Read Library of Great Reading, is chock-full of adventure featuring an array of characters-with and without capes. Featuring ten all-new, original stories that run the gamut from fantasy to comics to contemporary adventure to nonfiction, and featuring eleven of the most acclaimed, exciting writers for kids working today, this collection is the perfect book for you, whether you use your powers for good-or evil. Authors include Laurie Halse Anderson, Cathy Camper and Raul Gonzalez, Sharon Creech, Jack Gantos, Christopher Healy, Deborah Hopkinson, Ingrid Law, Pam Munoz Ryan, Lemony Snicket, and Eugene Yelchin, with illustrations by Jeff Stokely.

Sixteen-year-old Walker has discovered something potentially scandalous--two of his female classmates are having an affair. It is a secret he has no problem keeping to himself . . . until it comes to protecting his own reputation.

"It is difficult to close "Desire Lines" without the overpowering feeling that evil's caretaker can very well be an average young man who lacks the courage to do what he knows is right. This is a morality play as painful and rage-inducing as a personal betrayal. Take it personally. You cannot read this without getting as emotionally involved as if you were a player in the story." --Chris Lynch

From the Newbery Medal-winning author of "Dead End in Norvelt," the uproarious final volume of Jack Henry stories

According to his new motto--A WRITER'S JOB IS TO TURN HIS WORST EXPERIENCES INTO MONEY--Jack Gantos's alter ego Jack Henry is going to be filty rich even before he gets out of junior high, for his life is filled with the worst experiences imaginable. For instance, in the course of the few months covered in this closing cycle of interlinked stories, Jack is humiliated by a gorgeous syncronized swimmer, gets a tattoo the size of an ant on his big toe, flubs an IQ test and nearly fails wood shop, and has to dig up his dead dog not once but twice. And that's not the half of it

At the close of this final book of semi-autobiographical stories, Jack may not end up rolling in dough, but he will prove once again "a survivor, an 'everyboy' whose world may be wacko but whose heart and spirit are eminently sane" ("School Library Journal").

From the Newbery Medal-winning author of "Dead End in Norvelt," life for Jack Henry in a brand-new place is filled with the same old craziness

Jack Henry has moved to the island of Barbados with his offbeat family and his secret diary. But still he can't escape his penchant for wacky misadventure. Because of a headless chicken, he gets a violent case of blood poisoning. In a pepper-eating contest with his father, he discovers the perils of male bonding. And then he has his heartstrings twanged by an older woman who just happens to be his sister's best friend.

These are just a few of his trials and tribulations in these eight fierce and funny stories, based on the author's own childhood diaries.

Joey, who is still taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, goes to spend the summer with the hard-drinking father he has never known and tries to help the baseball team he coaches win the championship.

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?