Joey Pigza Loses Control

A brilliantly funny and poignant sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.

Like its predecessor, this high-voltage, honest novel mixes humour, pain, fear and courage with deceptive ease

Brilliant comic writing tinged with the poignancy of reality

A sad, scary, blackly funny sequel . . . A triumph

Gantos creates scenes of comic genius . . . Joey is an endearing character who should run and run

Jack Gantos (Author) Jack Gantos was born in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and has spent time living in Barbados and South Florida. He has written books for readers of all ages, including the acclaimed Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and its sequels, the teenage novel Desire Lines, and the youthful memoire Hole in My Life. 
 
His is also the writer of Dead End in Norvelt and From Norvelt to Nowhere, a pair of semi-autobiographical novels about the importance of history and reading, the first of which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2012. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts. David Tazzyman (Illustrator) Dermot Milligan is eleven, obese and has just started at Big School. He's a big fan of The Lord of the Rings, and he hates his evil sisters, Ruby and Ella (Rubella). His all-time favourite donut is the classic ring, but he's also very keen on jam.

Joey's dad is well and truly wired! 
 
After months of nagging, Joey Pigza is finally allowed to spend the summer holidays with his dad. But he soon finds out why Mom was so worried. If people think Joey has problems, they should meet his dad! 
 
Joey's dad insists he can cope without medication and that Joey can too. Joey so wants to believe his dad is right - but Joey remembers just how manic he felt before he got help. Can Joey live life his dad's way - or will the chaos take over?

What Would Joey Pigza Do?

The third book in the hilarious Joey Pigza series, with new illustrations from the brilliant David Tazzyman.

Joey finally comes to terms with himself in this funny, touching and totally endearing story

A funny, tender and soul-searching presentation of the relationship between Joey and his dying grandmother. This third Joey story is upbeat, warm-hearted and delightful

Joey . . . is an impossible, contradictory, glorious creation

'Joey Pigza, you need a life!' 
 
Grandma wants Joey to find a friend, stop running around after his NUTTY parents, and start looking after himself. But Joey's got other plans - he's going to be MR HELPFUL. 
 
Can Joey the secret superhero suceed in his mission to keey everybody SMILING?

I Am Not Joey Pigza

Brilliant fourth book in the Joey Pigza series with new illustrations by the fantastic David Tazzyman.

Meet Joey Pigza . . . A great kid who is funny and thoughtful and, yes, wired

Written with energetic, breathless, non-stop gusto

Funny, tender and soul-searching . . . Upbeat, warm-hearted and delightful

The latest heartwarming story about this likeable character has you once again so fully immersed in his thoughts and actions there are moments when you want to shout out to him to stop him making a mistake

Everything changes for Joey when his crazy, long-lost dad returns home after a lucky lottery win. Now they're rich, Carter Pigza truly believes that his family can start a whole new life and that means embarking on a brand new career running a busy diner - and changing their family name from Pigza to Heinz. Can Joey handle becoming Freddy? And how does he really feel about the fact that he's going to become a big brother?

Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key

A high-impact, very appealing story about a boy who just can't sit still.

It is a tremendous achievement to incorporate so much understanding and explanation into a cracking good story. I found it a vivid and startling book

One of the funniest recent publications . . . Written with the energetic, breathless, non-stop gusto of the main character

Its wit, verve and strong story make it a fascinating read

[This] could easily become required reading for anyone who works or lives with children and for any child who enjoys brilliant comic writing tinged with the poignancy of reality

The reader will quickly be engaged by the gritty honesty of this character who has a great deal of moral courage . . . Joey Pigza stays with you long after the last page has turned

Jack Gantos was born in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and has spent time living in Barbados and South Florida. He has written books for readers of all ages, including the acclaimed Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and its sequels, the teenage novel Desire Lines, and the youthful memoire Hole in My Life. 
 
His is also the writer of Dead End in Norvelt and From Norvelt to Nowhere, a pair of semi-autobiographical novels about the importance of history and reading, the first of which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2012. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts.

Joey is a good kid, maybe even a great kid, but his teachers never know what he's going to do next. He sharpens his finger in the pencil-sharpener and swallows his house key. He can't sit still for more than a minute - Joey is buzzing! 
 
Told from Joey's own unique viewpoint by acclaimed American author Jack Gantos, this is an exceptionally funny and touching story about a boy with severe attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Book Three

The Donut Diaries: Escape from Camp Fatso

Join Dermot Milligan at Camp Fatso in the third hilarious adventure in the brilliant Donut Diaries series.

Like a donut, this book is somehow sweet and disgusting at the same time. Oh, and it's very funny too!

Dermot Milligan is eleven, obese and has just started at Big School. He's a big fan of The Lord of the Rings, and he hates his evil sisters, Ruby and Ella (Rubella). His all-time favourite donut is the classic ring, but he's also very keen on jam.

From the Carnegie Medal 2020 winning author of Lark comes The Donut Diaries. 
Dermot Milligan loves donuts. His nickname at school is Donut. But he knows he needs to lose some weight, so now he's made a promise to stop eating them. And to make sure he keeps that promise, his mum is sending him to the dreaded Camp Fatso during the summer holidays. 
 
When he arrives, Dermot realises the camp is even more horrible than he had imagined. Fed on a diet of gruel and carrots under the strict control of evil Boss Skinner and his paintball-gun-yielding guards, Dermot and his friends are desperate to escape. So together, they hatch a cunning plan . . .

Book Two

The Donut Diaries: Revenge is Sweet

The second hilarious adventure of Dermot Milligan and his battles against his weight, his sisters and the school bullies.

A cheeky and funny delight . . . The author's irreverence will appeal to young and old readers

Plenty of laughs and a plot involving poo so it’s bound to be a hit

Dermot Milligan is eleven, obese and about to start at Big School. He's a big fan of The Lord of the Rings, and he hates his evil sisters, Ruby and Ella (Rubella). His all-time favourite donut is the classic ring, but he's also very keen on jam.

From the Carnegie Medal 2020 winning author of Lark comes The Donut Diaries. 
Dermot Milligan's got problems. He's overweight, and hooked on donuts. His mother has booked him in to see Dr Morlock, a nutritionist who looks like a Dementor. The diary is Dr Morlock's idea. Not only does Dermot have to write down how many donuts he eats, but also - and this is the really rubbish part - HIS FEELINGS! 
 
This is Dermot's second hilarious adventure, featuring his battles against the bullies, and hardest of all, his beloved donuts. After one term at St Michaels, Dermot thinks things can't sink any lower. All his classmates call him Donut, his insane PE teacher Mr Fricker despises him, the evil Floppy-Haired kid is out to get him... and now someone seems to be, er, going to the toilet in inappropriate places around the school. The Head calls in the services of internationally famous poo expert Dr Morlock to help track down the culprit - and somehow the finger of suspicion is pointed at Dermot. Can he turn detective and find out who's behind the poo - before his reputation is ruined forever?

Book One

The Donut Diaries

A British Diary of a Wimpy Kid, featuring Dermot, an overweight eleven-year-old. Hilariously funny and insightful.

Laugh-out-loud funny . . . Just the thing to make the childish (of any age) laugh

Easy and plaintive and very funny, and if you're determined to give the young boy in your life a book in his stocking this year, well this might be one he'd actually thank you for

A warm, witty and inspiring tale . . . This is a fine and funny pre-teens book with some lovely zany illustrations by David Tazzyman

A deliciously funny tales of a kid with a super sweet tooth. Perfect for boys and girls, with laughs and fun galore

Dermot's diaries are very revealing as he tells all in hilarious and embarrassing detail

A great read . . . Funny and full of ideas

This book is brilliant for all those who want to laugh out loud . . . This diary has it all including brilliant illustrations

I give this 10/10 (I might not have entirely enjoyed the boy humour but it was well written, suited the style of the book which addresses serious issues with a smile)

Dermot's voice is blunt and hilarious, exactly what you'd expect from a boy of his age . . . The Donut Diaries is the perfect book for readers aged 9+, especially those who will soon be starting big school themselves

A hilarious diary which will have the reader chuckling as events unfold - and empathising with Dermot as he shares anguishes common to many near-teenage boys

This is the funniest book I have ever read, I can't wait until the next book in the series. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little laugh

Funny and sweet in equal measure and I thoroughly enjoyed it

It's very much that wet sloppy fart kind of humour. Your kids will absolutely love this book. It's a great "next step up" the reading ladder

Dermot Milligan is eleven, obese and about to start at Big School. He's a big fan of The Lord of the Rings, and he hates his evil sisters, Ruby and Ella (Rubella). His all-time favourite donut is the classic ring, but he's also very keen on jam.

From the Carnegie Medal 2020 winning author of Lark comes The Donut Diaries, a British Diary of a Wimpy Kid, featuring Dermot, an overweight eleven-year-old. Hilariously funny and insightful. 
 
Dermot Milligan's got problems. He's overweight and hooked on donuts. He has a pushy, over-achieving mother, and a father who spends all his time hiding in the loo. His sisters, Ruby and Ella (known as Rubella) attack him relentlessly from the opposite directions of Chav and Goth. And now, he's being sent to a nutritionist, Doctor Morlock, who looks like a Dementor from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. 
 
This diary is Doc Morlock's idea. Not only does Dermot have to write down how many donuts he eats, but also - and this is the really rubbish part - he has to talk about HIS FEELINGS! But things are about to get even worse - he's being separated from his friends and sent to St Michael's, a posh school where he just knows he's going to stick out like a sore thumb. A sore thumb with a weight problem . . .

Jack Gantos

David Tazzyman

The Pigza series is a poignant examination of modern dysfunction

Joey takes on his toughest set of challenges yet in this heart-rending, triumphant series finale

Features all of the drama, havoc, and heart readers have come to expect, dread, and love

Joey Pigza stays with you long after the last page has turned

Joey Pigza is back in his fifth hilarious adventure, with illustrations by David Tazzyman.

David Tazzyman

Praise for The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza

The Pigza series is a poignant examination of modern dysfunction

Joey takes on his toughest set of challenges yet in this heart-rending, triumphant series finale

Features all of the drama, havoc, and heart readers have come to expect, dread, and love

The Pigza series is a poignant examination of modern dysfunction

Joey takes on his toughest set of challenges yet in this heart-rending, triumphant series finale

Features all of the drama, havoc, and heart readers have come to expect, dread, and love

The Pigza series is a poignant examination of modern dysfunction

Joey takes on his toughest set of challenges yet in this heart-rending, triumphant series finale

Features all of the drama, havoc, and heart readers have come to expect, dread, and love

Books by David Tazzyman

Series by David Tazzyman

Joey Pigza4 Books

The Donut Diaries3 Books

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