Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key

Title: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Author: Jack Gantos

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary: Joey was wired, and this year at school wasn’t any different. His days started out well, but once his medicine wore down, it was trouble for him. In math class, he was doing drills, and he would always raise his hand because he knew the answer, but when his teacher called on him, he would say “Can I get back to you on that?” He would start laughing. His math teacher sent him out in the hallway. It was there that Joey remembered that he had a mini-Superball in his pocket, so he started to play with it until Mrs. Deebs in the next class heard him and told him to cut the racket. Next, he tried to be like Tasmanian devil on TV. He took out his high-top shoelaces, tied them together and then to the belt and wrapped it around his waist. He grabbed one end and got himself spinning. He got really dizzy and started to bounce off the lockers. Mrs. Maxy, Joe’s teacher, came out and told him that he could either glue his feet to the floor for five whole minutes or spin himself down to the principal’s office. He said he’d get back to her on her choice. She told him to settle down for five minutes and then he could rejoin the class. Joey neglected to listen, and he was caught spinning around by the principal, so he spent the rest of the day sorting out crayon colors in the principal’s office. When Joey was in kindergarten, his dad, Carter Pigza, ran off and his mom chased him, so he was raised by his grandmother and then his mom remembered about him and stopped chasing after his dad. Joe didn’t even recognize her and his grandmother was not thrilled to see her finally come back. She immediately started to make up new rules for Joey and his grandmother was not having it. Everyone thinks that Joey’s bad behavior is from his grandmother, but it’s not-it was his dad. His grandma got meaner as the summer went on, because of the new rules put into place by his mother. One day, his grandma stormed out of the house to smoke a cigarette, and when they went looking for her, they found one of her shoes by the sewer outside. She didn’t come back. They went looking and called for her, but she never answered. Joey had a hard time getting used to the new way things were working out for him and his mom. She was big on rules for him and he wasn’t used to it. Joey’s mom had to go to his school and pick up a file about him, and when she went home, she went into Joey’s room and told him that there was a lot of stuff of there about being a handful and not so great things. Joey went on new medication and it seemed to be working well, but after lunch, he had trouble paying attention. Mrs. Maxy gave him a chance to show her that his behavior had changed. She gave Joey a list of her rules and as long as he followed them, they wouldn’t have any problems. Joey didn’t even remember the list of rules. The next day, the same things happened so Mrs. Maxy gave him something to do. She gave Joey a box of used pencils to sharpen while the rest of the class was doing social studies. Joey also thought it would be a good idea to cut his fingernails, but one started bleeding and his nail was hanging off. Mrs. Maxy ran over and wrapped tissues around Joey’s finger. They went to Nurse Holyfield. Joey had another talk with Mrs. Maxy but again, he couldn’t pay attention. She talked to him about hurting other people and hurting himself. Joey’s mom took him to the clinic that night to get his medicine. The first day he took it, he felt very quiet and he went to bed early and didn’t wake up until the next morning at ten o’clock. That afternoon, his old self came back. Joey was sitting at his desk at school the next day. He was playing with the house key that hung around his neck. His mother gave it to him because he got home from school two hours before she got home from the beauty salon where she worked. Before long, Joey had the key in his mouth. He would swallow the key and pull it back up by the string. The only problem was that sometimes it made him gag and almost throw up. Mrs. Maxy saw him doing it and she cut the string and put the key in his pocket. Joey turned to a boy in his class, Seth Justman, and asked how much he would give him if he swallowed the key; Seth said a dollar. Joey worked up a mouth full of saliva and swallowed the key. He told Mrs. Maxy and she ran him to the nurse again. The nurse got out a bottle of ipecac, which will make you throw up “like a champ.” It did, but still no key. The principal, Mrs. Jarzab, took Joey down to the special-ed room because she said he needed a little extra help. Joey was introduced to Mrs. Howard, who was a teacher downstairs. She had Joey sit in a big chair, called the Big Quiet Chair, for as long as he could sit there. She put slippers on him because he kept kicking the chair; everyone was staring at him and he didn’t like it at all. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. At the end of the day, Mrs. Howard woke him up and told him he needed to get his homework assignment back in Mrs. Maxy’s room. Mrs. Maxy made Joey apologize for disrupting the class, so he did. Joey didn’t tell his mom about his day when she got home from work, but she found out because Mrs. Jarzab called his house later that night. Before Joey went to bed, his mother gave him mineral oil. The key came out in the toilet the next morning. Joey was so proud and he went to school telling everyone. Mrs. Maxy heard him and he went to the nurse to go clean himself up. Joey’s mother had forgotten to give him his medicine that morning. The nurse offered to give it to him at school, but he refused and said only his mother will give it to him. When Joey went back to class, he gave Mrs. Maxy the key to hold on the bulletin board for the day. Every morning, that’s where his key was to go. Joey had a focus session that day with Mrs. Howard. That day, they were having a birthday party for Harold, so Joey passed out the rainbow party hats. Joey blew the candles out for Harold to “help him out” but Mrs. Howard made him go read a book in the Big Quiet Chair. A new “scary-looking” kid came into the room that day from another school that didn’t have their own special room. Joey never made it back upstairs that day for math drills like he wanted too. He walked home and realized that he left his key in Mrs. Maxy’s room on the bulletin board. He sat on the porch, hiding form the bad kids and waited for his mom. Joey explained to his mother where his key was and they talked about his “problems.” Joey’s mother seemed uneasy about talking about it and you could tell that she started to become upset. The next day at school, things were going great. Joey’s meds were working and he went on a field trip to the Amish farm. When Mrs. Maxy wasn’t looking, he would stick his head out the window and feel the breeze, like a dog. The Amish women offered the class pie, but Mrs. Maxy told Joey that he should stick with fruit because the pie had too much sugar in it. He wanted that pie, so he took a piece and put it in his back pocket. A few minutes later, everyone was carving pumpkins. Mrs. Maxy told Joey he couldn’t use a knife because it was dangerous. He made a big deal out of it. Since everyone else was carving their pumpkins and Joey was only allowed to draw on his, he threw a fit and Mrs. Maxy made him have a time out on the bus for ten minutes. Instead of going to the bus, Joey snuck around to the front door of the farmhouse. He ate his pie. Suddenly, Joey found himself running and breathing so deeply through the cornfields. Joey ran straight into the barn and starting climbing up the ladder. Mrs. Maxy caught him. Joey jumped down from the roof and hurt his ankle. His foot no longer fit in his shoe. The next morning at school, Joey’s class had a substitute teacher for the morning, names Miss Adams. After what had happened at the field trip, Mrs. Maxy said that she, Joey, Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Jarzab and Joey’s mother were going to have a meeting about the “next step” for Joey. Students who were part of the gifted and talented program went to a special presentation, and Joey followed them right out the door. After it was over, Joey didn’t want to go back to class so he went to the nurse to check on his ankle. She said it was nothing and that swallowing the key was worse! At the assembly, they talked about doing one good thing to change the world and make it a better place and Joey kept that in mind. He went back to his classroom and told Mrs. Maxy that he snuck out but he was going to do something to better the world. He wanted to make magnets for cars that say “Hate Is Not A Family Value.” He began working on them in the back of the room. Joey knew he had to finish before the other kids came in from recess so he ran and got the scissors from Mrs. Maxy’s scissors because they would cut faster. She didn’t know Joey took them. As he raced back to his desk to finish, he tripped over the ear of his one rabbit slipper that he was wearing on his bad ankle and dove through the air with the scissors. His hand hit Mara Dombrowski’s nose and boy, was is bleeding. Mrs. Jarzab came to the room and told Joey to pack his things and go with her. As he was leaving, Mrs. Maxy was doing math drills with the rest of the class. Math drills were Joey’s favorite. Mrs. Jarzab took Joey and walked him down to the office. Joey’s mom, Fran, came from work to the office. Fran was protecting Joey to no end while speaking with Mrs. Jarzab. Mrs. Jarzab wanted Joey to tell her his side of the story. He told her. According to the school, Joey would have to be suspended for six weeks because he hurt another student, but the special-ed bus was going to pick him up two days later from his house. Joey and his mother talked, and she told him that he just needs to go to a special school until they see what a good kid he is, and then they’ll send him back. The next day, Joey broke his mothers’ rule by leaving the house while she was at work. He went to Maria’s house because he wanted to apologize. When he knocked on the door, a man answered and Joey told him who he was. He was so nervous. The man told Joey that he was messed up and he shouldn’t be allowed in school with regular kids. He said “come here” as he took a step toward Joey, but Joey ran down the sidewalk. He didn’t hit Joey, but he told him to leave. He told Joey that his mom had a lot to do with his behavior. Joey went home that night and his mother told him that she couldn’t switch her appointments at work the next morning so she wouldn’t be able to get him on the bus. They were both bummed out. Next, she told Joey that she had two presents for him. The first was good advice. She said that whenever you think of something bad, you have to quick think of something good. She walked into a bookstore and pulled out a book on dogs. She told Joey that if he did really well in special-ed, she would get him a dog. He had always wanted a dog. That gave him hope and confidence. The next morning, the blue and white bus pulled up for Joey. He knew that the right thing to do was to get on the bus, but he just stared. The bus driver pulled up and asked if he was the new foster kid, but Joey told him that he wasn’t and his mom was working but he wouldn’t tell him where. Joey got on the bus and there were already four other kids on there. One had short arms that were sticking straight out. His name was Charlie. In front of Joey were two girls who were sisters. They read and wrote everything backwards. Their names were May and June. Another boy came on; he was the new foster kid. Then they were at school. It was called Lancaster County Special Education Center. Someone greeted Joey when he came off the bus named Ed Vanness, but he told Joey that he could call him “Special Ed.” Ed was his caseworker. Special Ed told Joey all about the school. Joey was in Special Ed’s office and realized that it wasn’t as scary as he thought but he did want to call his mom, so he called the salon but they said she was busy so Joey said that he would call back. Special Ed told Joey that when they think he can go back to school without hurting another student, they will let him go. He said that it wasn’t about the slippers or the scissors; it was about how Joey made his decisions. Joey blamed his medication and picked up the phone to call his mother a third time. Special Ed told Joey that maybe his home life was part of the problem, and he hit the dial tone. It was time to look at the big picture. Joey went home that day and told his mother all about his day, from waiting for the new bus to come until he was with Special Ed. He had a bad day. His mother wasn’t listening at first, but she soon did and she gave Joey his medication. Joe had also spoken with a diet lady at school as well, who told him that he doesn’t eat right for his body. She told him he needed more vegetables, salads and grains. Joey’s mother had spoken with Mr. Vanness that day, but didn’t tell Joey what they had spoken about because unlike him, she knows how to keep her mouth shut. They began to have a small argument. The next morning while Joey was waiting for the bus, Mrs. Maxy drove by. It made him feel good. Joey asked how Maria was doing and to that, Mrs. Maxy said that Maria was now attending a Catholic school.  Joey apologized multiple times, gave Mrs. Maxy a hug and said he was switching gears. That day, Joey was going to the doctor. The doctor was nice to him. He did a checkup and told Joey he was going to have to take blood and test his urine. They also did a brain SPECT test, which would help the doctor give Joey a different medication. They couldn’t do anything until the results of the tests came back, so it was just a matter of waiting. Joey was scared. After he spoke to his mother, Special Ed talked with her about taking Joey to a hospital to get checked out. His mother bought him a new outfit to wear. Early the next morning, they went to the bus station in a taxi and were the first in line. Once they got on the bus, Joey had a lot of thoughts in his head so he leaned against the window and fell asleep. When he woke up, they ate lunch. Joey began telling his mother stories about how badly his grandmother treated him. His mother felt horrible. They went to the bathroom and Joey took his medication. While they were in there, his mother made a confession-she told Joey that she would want to come home, but she would be drinking with his father and she was in no shape to come home. She said she would walk by the house because by seeing Joey, it might give her strength. They stayed in the bathroom until the driver came and got them when they got to Pittsburgh. When they got to the hospital, the test was quick. They went into an office for Radiology. Joey went into room number three with the nurse while his mom filled out paperwork. He asked her for a band aid as soon as they got into the room. She gave him one and asked him to undress and put a white robe on, so he listened, but as soon as the nurse left the room, Joey climbed on the shelves and opened the jar of Band-Aids to get more. The nurse took him into a different room and he had to lie on his back with a rubber piece in between his teeth. After the test was over, Joey and his mother went to the gift shop and Joey got a card from there. Next, they went sightseeing and Joey was looking into a telescope. He really wanted to meet his father and he made his mother well aware of that. She said he wouldn’t like his father but Joey insisted that he had to meet him. A few weeks later, the results went to the doctor and everything was fine in Joey’s brain. Special Ed decided to try something else. It was like a big band aid that went on Joey’s side under his shirt. All Joey could talk about was how badly he wanted a Chihuahua. There was an ad in the newspaper for a dog that was half Chihuahua, so they called the number and the man brought him over. Joey named him Pablo. From the first patch, Joey felt a difference. Everything seemed to be going better for him, at home and at the special-ed place. Joey’s mom, Special Ed, Mrs. Jarzab and Mrs. Maxy all met and agreed that Joey could go back to his regular school. On Joey’s first day back to school, he wanted to say the Pledge of Allegiance on the loud speaker. He was such a happy person. He saw the nurse and smiled at her, as well as the secretary. The secretary told Joey he could talk over the loud speaker. The deal that was agreed on was that Joey would go to regular school special ed for a week and if he proved that he wasn’t a danger to himself or to anyone else, he could go back to Mrs. Maxy’s class. Downstairs, everyone missed Joey and they were so happy to see him back. Since nobody was in the chair, Joey grabbed a book, went over to the Big Quiet Chair and began to read a book, by himself and quietly.

Characters: Joey, Joey’s mother and grandmother, Special Ed, Mrs. Maxy, Mrs. Jarzab, Joey’s father, Mrs. Harold, Maria

Plot: Trying to calm Joey down and figure out what exactly was wrong with him

Theme: N/A

Setting: Joey’s house, Joey’s school’s

Opinion: I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was a really nice way of giving people hope. Joey couldn’t do anything right to please anyone, and in addition to his problems at school, he had so many issues at home. He’s the kid at school that you want to help but you don’t know how. It gives you hope that children really want what’s best for themselves, but sometimes, they don’t know how to handle certain situations, so they do things that they know are wrong.