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Bibliography:
Ganto, Jack. (2011). DEAD END IN NORVELT. New York: Square Fish. ISBN 9781250010230
Summary:
Jack Gantos thought he was going to have a fantastic summer, that is until his mother walked up and ruined it. But how boring can a summer be when writing obituaries, Hell’s Angels, driving a car, and throwing balloons filled with red paint out of an airplane are involved? Read this hilarious and somewhat true adventure of an eleven year old boy’s summer of being grounded for life in Norvelt, PA.
Critical Analysis:
Author Jack Gantos offers readers insight into his boyhood town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania with the creation of the fictional Jack Gantos, whose comical happenings are loosely based on the author’s life. The town of Norvelt was founded by Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930’s on the concept of bartering and trading for what one needs. However, as Jack finds out firsthand, times are changing in their little town in the summer of 1962. While being grounded “for life” for shooting his dad’s Japanese sniper rifle, which he wasn’t suppose to touch, his mom loans him out to help Miss Volker write the town obituaries and learns, “History lasts forever.” Author Gantos seamlessly weaves Hell’s Angels, Marilyn Monroe's death, Monopoly, and Bambi as a sign of the times, along with other historical events and facts from Miss Volker’s daily “This Day in History” into the protagonist, Jack Gantos’s, comical daily life. All of this history occurs while the boy Jack Gantos helps solve the mystery of why all the founding members of Norvelt are dropping like flies. Overall, readers will enjoy this comical and somewhat true twist of history while taking away the wise words of Miss Volker, “I just love the circle of history, you know it’s so generous.”
Awards:
2012 Newbery Medal
2012 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Review Excerpts:
“This is a story like no other.” -John Scieszka, founder of guysread.com
“Laugh-out-loud gothic comedy.” -The Horn Book
“Wildly entertaining.” -Publishers Weekly
“Those with a nose for history will be especially pleased.” -Booklist
Connections:
-Use the Dead End in Norvelt Study Guide provided by Jack Gantos
-Read the sequel, From Norvelt to Nowhere
-Read The Wednesday Wars by, Gary Schmidt - also set in the 1960s, compare and contrast the novels
-Research Eleanor Roosevelt and her contributions to the United States of America
-Have students write an obituary summary for the book
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