Boston Globe Article Profiles This Year's Newbery Medal Winner Jack Gantos!
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| Author Jack Gantos in the Reading Room at the Library of Congress in September 2011. Photo by Richard Groth. |
Journalist James Sullivan writes in "A Newbery winner at last, "Already the recipient of many honors for his books, which are favorites among educators and librarians for their ability to lure those coveted 'reluctant' readers, last month Gantos was awarded the Newbery Medal, the highest honor in children’s literature, for his latest book, Dead End in Norvelt. Several factors contributed to his Newbery selection, Gantos figures. Part of it could be his longevity; now 60, he’s been writing books since the late 1970s. Part of it could be the fact that he had already amassed quite a bit of 'swag,' as he calls it. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (1998), the first book in that series, was a finalist for a National Book Award. In 2001, Gantos was a Newbery finalist for Joey Pigza Loses Control. The author also won several awards, including the Printz and Sibert honors, for Hole in My Life (2001), perhaps his most unusual book, in which he wrote frankly about a bad decision that landed him in prison in his early 20s. Mostly, though, Gantos believes Dead End in Norvelt, an oddball murder mystery involving a boy and a stack of obituaries about the town founders, is deserving of the award. 'I don’t feel like I just barely lipped it in over the rim,' he says with an impish grin."
To read the entire article, click here.
To learn even more about Jack Gantos and all his fabulous books, visit his website. Did you know Jack Gantos is a contributor to The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?
To learn more about this fun and engaging progressive story game, click here.
