Now that he takes medication to control his attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Joey can spend some time with his father, whom his mother describes as “wired like you, only he’s bigger .” Joey is so anxious to be accepted by his father that he does things just to please him, such as agreeing to play on the Little League team his dad coaches. But Joey also does something he knows isn’t good for him when he discontinues his medication after his father says he can get along without it. Before long, Joey is having the symptoms he recognizes from the old days: he’s jumpy, he talks constantly, and he can’t seem to settle down. Gantos’s sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998) is both hilarious and poignant as we watch resilient Joey try to survive a summer vacation with an unreliable parent. Honor Book, CCBC 2001 Newbery Discussion (Ages 9-13)

The sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, a National Book Award Finalist.

When Joey Pigza meets his dad for the first time in years, he meets a grown-up version of his old out-of-control self. Carter Pigza is as wired as Joey used to be -- before his stint in special ed, and before he got his new meds.

Joey's mom reluctantly agrees that he can stay with his dad for a summer visit, which sends Joey racing with sky-high hopes that he and Carter can finally get to know each other. But as the weeks whirl by, Carter has bigger plans in mind. He decides that just as he has pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, Joey can do the same and become as normal as any kid, without the help of a doctor's prescription. Carter believes Joey can do it and Joey wants to believe him more than anything in the world.

Here is the continuation of the acclaimed Joey Pigza story, affirming not only that Joey Pigza is a true original but that it runs in the family. This title has Common Core connections.

Joey Pigza Loses Control is a 2000 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and a 2001 Newbery Honor Book.