Heads or Tails - (Jack Henry) by Jack Gantos (Paperback)

About the Book

From the Newbery Medal-winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, eight more hysterical semi-autobiographical Jack Henry stories about a sixth grader's trials and tribulations

Book Synopsis

From the Newbery Medal-winning author of Dead End in Norvelt, eight more hysterical semi-autobiographical Jack Henry stories about a sixth grader's trials and tribulations

Jack's life is a crazy roller-coaster ride. At his fifth school in six years, he has a crackpot teacher who won't give him a break about his lousy handwriting and a secret crush who wants to be a policewoman. At home, he has a pesky little brother with a knack for getting hurt whenever Jack's supposed to be looking after him, a terror for an older sister, all sorts of weird neighbors, and, last but not least, ferocious alligators in the canal behind his house.

Writing in his diary about his good days and bad days is one way Jack survives his up-and-down year. But he's also a kid who knows that life can go any which way at any given moment.

A Common Core title.

Review Quotes

"Laugh-out-loud funny . . . The author has bull's-eye accuracy in capturing the private torments of a twelve-year-old." --The Buffalo News

"As real as it gets." --The Book Report

"The author of the offbeat Rotten Ralph picture books makes an auspicious foray into new ground with this semi-autobiographical, wholly engaging novel. His narrator, Jack, travels through the often poignant moments that highlight his sixth-grade year." --Starred, Publishers Weekly

"Jack's a survivor, an 'everyboy' whose world may be wacko but whose heart and spirit are eminently sane . . . Gantos is a terrific writer with a wonderfully wry sensibility." --Starred, School Library Journal

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; 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.