Joey Pigza Loses Control - Genre 6

Bibliography

Gantos, Jack. 2000. Joey Pigza Loses Control. New York: Random House Listening Library. ISBN 1-4000-8616-7.

Plot Summary

The story begins when Joey's mom is taking him to spend the summer with his father Carter Pigza in Pittsburgh. His father has told his mother he is not drinking anymore and his alcoholism is under control. Joey wears a patch daily with medication to control his ADHD. The medicine keeps him in control. Joey knows that his mother loves him. He does not even know his dad. He plans to spend the summer with him with the desire to get his father to love him too. He begins to pitch for the baseball team that his father is coaching. He is also living with his grandmother who is grumpy and dying from emphysema. She continues to smoke between breathing with the oxygen. Joey learns that his father is hyperactive just like him. He self medicates it with alcohol. His dad is still drinking. His father takes him to Storybook Land where he has conversations with storybook characters. His father loves to talk, but never really listens to Joey. One day Joey's father flushes his nicotine patches and Joey's medicine patches away down the toilet. He does not believe they need them. Joey really wants to be normal. He tries talking to himself, but realizes he is losing it daily. During a championship game Joey ends up running away to a mall to call his mom to tell her the secret. She picks him up to bring him home.


Critical Analysis

This is the unabridged production sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. It begins with Joey changing a patch daily with medicine to control his ADHD. When his father flushes his patches down the toilet Joey is afraid of turning into the child he used to be. He wants to believe his father that he is normal. He begins to feel more and more out of control every day. Everyone knows someone with ADHD today. Gantos lets the reader feel what it is like to be a child with ADHD. Jack Gantos, the author tells the story himself with inflection in his voice when he changes characters. The sound quality of the CD is very clear. The pronunciation was very clear. The listening experience was enjoyable. Joey does not want to go back to the child he used to be who was out of control. He feels himself slipping daily. Joey realizes that his father needs help too. Joey's father never realizes that Joey needs his medicine even though he is hyper and talkative. Their is humor in the story with Joey's pet chihuahua, and other events like when he covers his body in shave cream. It would be a great read aloud for a class.



Review Excerpt(s)

Young Readers Choice Award 2003

John Newberry Medal 2001

ALSC Notable recording

AudioFile Earphones Award

Booklist (Susan Dove 2000): "Gantos has given Joey a remarkably vivid personality, and, blending irrepressible humor with a powerful depiction of a child's longing for normalcy, he has written a dead-on portrayal of a young person assessing the often self-serving behavior of the adults who control his life."

Children's Literature (Susan Wilde): "Gantos' writing excellence shows in the way he allows the reader to draw conclusions, while Joey only experiences situations. Gantos still gives us what we love best about Joey--neither medicine nor a bad situation can take away his comic responses."

Kirkus 2000: "A tragic tale in many ways, but a triumph too."

VOYA 2001(Ruth Cox): "Through Joey's narration, Gantos brilliantly portrays the often-manic pace of an ADHD mind, but he alleviates the tension with touches of humor."

Connections

-Read Joey Pigza Swallows the Key

-Read the story aloud. Stop and discuss the book.

- Students write a postcard about Joey has done with his dad. Draw a picture on one side.

-Students in a small group write a reader's theater scene from their favorite part of the book.

- Students make baseball cards depicting each of the characters (mom, Carter, Grandma, Pablo)

-interview someone with ADHD. Compare the person they interviewed to Joey.