Jack Gantos Books in Order

Sarah adores her very, very nasty red cat, even when he breaks rules and ruins everything. After his behavior goes too far and he lands with the circus, Ralph faces the faint possibility of learning a lesson.

Ronald is usually lively, but now he keeps falling asleep at school, on skates, and even on the way to rehearsal. His friends finally solve the mystery, and the answer is as odd as the problem.

Maggie loves snow and the North, while Chester longs for warmth and the South. Their friendship is tested when they realize caring about each other does not mean wanting the same place to live.

Sarah decides Ralph's rotten days are over and tries to turn him into a neat, proper pet. Ralph hates every frilly improvement, and the struggle over who gets to define good behavior is the whole joke.

Ida dreads being babysat by Aunt Bernice, whose wild ideas always lead to trouble. But between disastrous outings, a slumber party scare, and dog Rex's chaos, Ida discovers that embarrassment can be a lot of fun.

After gobbling the watermelon meant for family dessert, little Greeny Monster falls into a frightening dream. His nightmare about being mistaken for food gives this comic picture book a sharp lesson about greed.

Vanessa goes looking for the ideal pet and tries everything from a pig to a sloth to a monkey. The search is silly and chaotic, and the real answer turns out to be much closer than she expects.

Sarah needs help with a school project on ancient Egypt, and Ralph is eager to volunteer. His library disasters, homemade hieroglyphics, and over-the-top ideas only make more work, until he stumbles into a surprisingly good solution.

A muddy, smelly alligator gets invited to a party and cannot understand why nobody wants to stand near him. His friends' surprise solution, a birthday bath, turns this picture book into a goofy lesson in cleanliness.

On the night of a full-moon family reunion, one very proper-looking family becomes anything but proper. Their ghastly manners and wild transformation make this one of Gantos's strangest and funniest early picture books.

Willy's team plays fair, even when the Weasels do not. This short sports story turns a championship game into a clear, energetic lesson about teamwork and good sportsmanship.

When sweet, perfect Percy shows up for Christmas, Ralph is consumed with jealousy. He sabotages stockings, presents, and holiday cheer, mostly because he is afraid Sarah loves the other cat more.

Halloween gives Ralph a costume, a pile of candy, and endless opportunities to be impossible. Sarah tries to keep the fun friendly, but Ralph treats the holiday like a license for mayhem.

Sarah brings Ralph to school for show and tell and hopes he will finally cooperate. Instead he wrecks her plans, mangles the lesson, and turns the classroom into a showcase for bad behavior.

Ralph becomes convinced everyone has forgotten his birthday, and his feelings quickly turn rotten. The celebration that follows is full of his usual troublemaking, plus a rare hint of wounded pride.

At his fifth school in six years, Jack Henry faces a difficult teacher, a secret crush, a battered little brother, and alligators in the canal. Writing it all down is the only way he can make sense of sixth grade.

Sarah tries to prove Ralph can behave, especially with perfect cousin Percy nearby to make him look bad. The harder Ralph is pushed toward goodness, the more spectacularly he resists.

Jack Henry has moved to Barbados, but a new island does not save him from misadventure. Headless chickens, pepper contests, crushes, and family friction fuel these fierce, funny diary-based stories.

Ray Jakes lands a zero-to-six-year prison sentence after getting swept into a drug-smuggling scheme. This adult novel follows his time in jail with dark humor, bad choices, and a clear sense of how easily drift becomes disaster.

Walker knows two girls at school are in love, and when a furious preacher whips the town into a panic, that secret becomes dangerous. Gantos turns one boy's fear and hesitation into a sharp novel about betrayal and homophobia.

Jack Henry decides a writer should turn his worst experiences into money, which is bad news because his life is full of humiliations. These linked stories pile on embarrassment, gross mishaps, and darkly funny growing pains.

Valentine's Day is sweet, sentimental, and exactly the kind of thing Ralph hates. He fights back with garbage, ruined treats, and appalling manners, while Sarah keeps insisting he has a loving side.

Sarah is nervous about starting school and making new friends, and jealous Ralph wants no part of it. When he follows her to class in disguise, her first day goes spectacularly wrong before it goes right.

The cat show is coming, and Ralph is desperate to beat his perfect cousin Percy. Sarah tries to train him into a polished champion, but Ralph only starts to shine when he stops pretending to be anything but himself.

Joey cannot sit still, follow rules, or stop making impulsive choices, and he knows people are losing patience with him. This fast, funny, painful novel lets readers see the world through the eyes of a good kid in constant motion.

Halloween gives Ralph everything he loves, costumes, noise, and a fresh chance to misbehave. Sarah tries to keep the night on track, but Ralph turns spooky fun into one more gleeful mess.

Ralph tries to be nice long enough to impress Santa, but Christmas decorations only create more chances for trouble. It is a playful holiday romp built around Ralph's worst instincts.

Fifth-grader Jack moves to Miami expecting excitement, but mostly finds new worries. Gross obsessions, a wildly intense teacher, and the everyday panic of growing up make this linked story collection funny and painfully familiar.

Ralph has his eye on the feast and very little patience for manners. As Sarah tries to steer the holiday in a kinder direction, this Thanksgiving story turns gratitude into one more comic battle of wills.

A wedding should be all flowers, cake, and good behavior, which makes it a perfect disaster zone for Ralph. Sarah wants a beautiful day, but her rotten red cat has other ideas.

Joey spends the summer with his father, Carter, hoping they can finally become a real family. Instead, Carter decides Joey does not need his medication, and Joey has to fight hard to hold on to himself.

In 1971, Jack Gantos takes a disastrous chance to make quick money for college by helping smuggle hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York. This memoir follows the arrest, prison time, and the beginnings of his life as a writer.

A carnival brings prizes, competition, and far too much temptation for shortcuts. Ralph keeps trying the wrong way first, and his usual laziness makes the lesson hit harder and funnier.

Joey wants to help when his long-separated parents start spinning out together again, but their chaos keeps dragging him in. As his grandmother pushes him to make a real friend, Joey finds an unexpected connection with Olivia Lapp.

Fourth-grader Jack moves to Cape Hatteras and gets conflicting advice on how to make friends. Between a crush on his teacher, a spying job for the principal, and a duck with backward feet, he drifts through a memorably strange school year.

Ralph turns down Sarah's healthy dinner in favor of trash-can feasts, and the junk food catches up with him fast. His usual rotten habits suddenly feel a lot less funny when he gets truly sick.

A teenage girl gets pulled into the strange world of the Rumbaughs, a family shadowed by obsession, superstition, and a deeply unsettling curse. Darkly funny and gothic, the novel turns small-town weirdness into something genuinely creepy.

Joey's father reappears with lottery money, a new face, and a new name, then expects Joey and his mother to start over too. Running a shabby diner is hard enough, but the real fight is Joey's refusal to lose himself.

The cat show is coming, and Ralph is desperate to beat his perfect cousin Percy. Sarah tries to train him into a polished champion, but Ralph only starts to shine when he stops pretending to be anything but himself.

Reckless as ever, Ralph tears from one scrape to the next until Sarah starts wondering whether even a cat with nine lives can keep this up. It is a bright, funny picture book about chaos, close calls, and a cat who never learns for long.

Grounded for the summer and plagued by nosebleeds, young Jack Gantos ends up typing obituaries for his fierce old neighbor Miss Volker. The job pulls him into Norvelt's strange past, a possible murder, and one unforgettable summer.

Sarah works hard for baseball tryouts, while Ralph skips straight to dreaming about fame. His showboating turns the game upside down, and only a last burst of effort gives this rotten cat a chance to help.

With the Cuban missile crisis hanging in the background, trouble hits Norvelt again after an explosion, another crime, and a death in town. Jack and Miss Volker hit the road on a wild chase that turns history, revenge, and friendship into high comedy.

Fed up with Sarah's rules, Ralph runs away to find the cat family that never asked him to change. His trip down memory lane is funny and chaotic, but it also shows what home really means.

Joey is just starting to find his footing when his father disappears after plastic surgery and his mother falls into postpartum depression. Forced to care for his baby brother and chase hard answers, Joey faces one of his toughest family crises.

Fourteen-year-old Jack meets Gary Pagoda, an older neighbor fresh out of juvie, and becomes fascinated with trouble. Set in Fort Lauderdale, this autobiographical novel catches the moment admiration, recklessness, and boredom start pushing Jack off course.

Part writing guide, part memoir, this book shows kids how to turn journals, memories, and everyday mishaps into stories. Gantos shares practical tips, examples, and encouragement without taking the fun out of writing.

Joey wants to help local shelter dogs find homes, but his beloved chihuahua Pablo has been sent to comfort his mother in jail. While Joey worries and plans a costume-heavy adoption event, he learns how much pets can steady people.

A young boy sits in a library waiting for the call that will send him to kill. As he watches people read, laugh, and think, the certainty he arrived with begins to crack.

Joey thinks he can outrun anything, even with beat-up shoes and ADHD. After a crash leaves him with a dented head, he has to lean on Granny, Pablo, and his own stubborn heart to keep going.