2. JACK GANTOS
-Grew up in Norvelt, PN
-Lived in Barbados
-Wrote both novels and picture books
-Became a writer in high school
-Rotten Ralph in 1976

3. AWARDS
-Michael L. Printz & Robert F. Sibert Honor
-Newbery Honor
-National Book Award Finalist

4. 1962- WHAT’S HAPPENING?
-Cold War
-Civil Rights
-Kennedy Presidency
-Cuban Missile Crisis

5. COLD WAR (1945-1989)
USA vs. USSR
-The Red Scare
-Arms Race
-Space Race
-End of the Cold War

6. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT’S IMPORTANCE
-Changed the role of First Lady
-Married to FDR
-Advocate for Civil and Human Rights
-Subsidized housing
-Co-wrote Universal Declaration of
Human Rights

7. OBITUARIES
-Necrology
-Record keeping of deaths
-Types of Obituaries
-Death Notice
-Memorial Advertisement

8. SETTING
-Norvelt, Pennsylvania
-Summer of 1962
-Rural
-Cornfields
-Small town life

9. MAJOR CHARACTERS
-Jack Gantos
-Mr. & Mrs. Gantos
-Miss Volker
-Bunny Huffer
-Mr. Spizz

10. THEMES
-Coming of Age
-Death
-Inner-Family Struggle
-Society and Class
-Community

11. QUESTIONS FOR READING
1. What are some family similarities to modern
day?
2. What do Jack’s nosebleeds coincide with?
3. How does social context affect the plot?
4. How does Jack and Bunny’s relationship
change?

12. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
-History Channel account of Cold War
-http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war
-Author’s Bio
-http://www.jackgantos.com/bio-photos/