Jack on the Tracks (Jack Henry, 2) - Softcover

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; the Joey Pigza series, which include a Newbery Honor book and a National Book Award Finalist; Dead End in Norvelt, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; and the Rotten Ralph series.

Grade 4-6-This fourth book in a series of loosely knit autobiographical stories featuring Gantos's alter ego, Jack Henry, is a prequel to Heads or Tails (Farrar, 1994). Once again, the boy's peripatetic family has moved, this time from North Carolina to Miami. While the geographical location is different, much remains the same in Jack's life: an unbearable older sister and pesky younger brother, his love and admiration for his Dad, chronic problems with pets, and encounters with a number of unusual characters. But what most defines the boy is his absolute captivation with anything disgusting. Indeed, the short story he composes for school about his friend's tapeworm makes Thomas Rockwell's How to Eat Fried Worms (Yearling, 1953) seem like a picnic. But, even with his irresistible fascination with the gross and the weird, Jack is a likable and appealing fifth grader. His first-person preadolescent musings and worries are poignant, funny, and real. While his generous imagination may take him to extremes, his intentions are good; he strives to do the right thing, although circumstances seem invariably to get in the way of the intended outcome. These nine stories range from the macabre to the hilarious and from the surreal to the quirky. They will touch a familiar chord with readers who are struggling to figure out a world that seems complex and confusing.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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