About the Author

Jack Gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. His works include "Hole in My Life," a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert Honors, "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key," a National Book Award Finalist, "Joey Pigza Loses Control," a Newbery Honor book, and "Dead End in Norvelt," winner of the Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Jack was raised in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and when he was seven, his family moved to Barbados. He attended British schools, where there was much emphasis on reading and writing, and teachers made learning a lot of fun. When the family moved to south Florida, he found his new classmates uninterested in their studies, and his teachers spent most of their time disciplining students. Jack retreated to an abandoned bookmobile (three flat tires and empty of books) parked out behind the sandy ball field, and read for most of the day. The seeds for Jack's writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. He begged his mother for a diary and began to collect anecdotes he overheard at school, mostly from standing outside the teachers' lounge and listening to their lunchtime conversations. Later, he incorporated many of these anecdotes into stories.

While in college, he and an illustrator friend, Nicole Rubel, began working on picture books. After a series of well-deserved rejections, they published their first book, "Rotten Ralph," in 1976. It was a success and the beginning of Jack's career as a professional writer. Jack continued to write children's books and began to teach courses in children's book writing and children's literature. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College and the Vermont College M.F.A. program for children's book writers. He now devotes his time to writing books and educational speaking. He lives with his family in Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Readers who don't know Joey will have no trouble jumping right in with this book, and those who have met him in the previous books will enjoy the way Mr. Helpful' tries to set things right in a chaotic and uniquely amusing world. "School Library Journal" [Gantos] resolves his honest, affecting trilogy by giving his protagonist the heart to continue loving people despite their sometimes terrible flaws and the perseverance to keep aiming in the right direction--no matter what the grown-ups say. No need to read the prequels to enjoy this one. "Booklist, Starred Review" Hard to believe that Joey is the almost-normal one in this third and last installment in the chronicles of Joey Pigza . . . It's not just a funny story with nutty parents out of control, it's a poignant story of family, loss, lessons learned, and one boy's learning to make his way in the world with confidence and good cheer. This work easily stands by itself, but readers new to Joey Pigza will rush out to get the others, too. A must read. "Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review""

"Readers who don't know Joey will have no trouble jumping right in with this book, and those who have met him in the previous books will enjoy the way 'Mr. Helpful' tries to set things right in a chaotic and uniquely amusing world."--"School Library Journal"
"[Gantos] resolves his honest, affecting trilogy by giving his protagonist the heart to continue loving people despite their sometimes terrible flaws and the perseverance to keep aiming in the right direction--no matter what the grown-ups say. No need to read the prequels to enjoy this one."--"Booklist," Starred Review "Hard to believe that Joey is the almost-normal one in this third and last installment in the chronicles of Joey Pigza . . . It's not just a funny story with nutty parents out of control, it's a poignant story of family, loss, lessons learned, and one boy's learning to make his way in the world with confidence and good cheer. This work easily stands by itself, but readers new to Joey Pigza will rush out to get the others, too. A must read."--"Kirkus Reviews," Starred Review