This book’s text was remarkable, since it was definitely fictional, but it was partly a story about the author’s real life (Gantos, 2011). The setting was clearly around the 1960s in a small town, and the style of writing truly felt as though you were in the mind of the young boy himself with a small mix of mystery (Gantos, 2011). The plot was interesting, seeing as Jack Gantos had to work with an older woman surrounding obituaries and the thoughts of the dead people’s past lives (Gantos, 2011). The information was presented in a way that reminded me of how it felt to be a kid during a long summer. Overall, this book had a theme of mystery, and it was a book that I will likely read to my classroom in the future. The format is in a chapter book form. The reading level seemed to be for those in upper elementary school. This book would be great for students to do a Socratic seminar discussion on as an activity, given the more complex style of writing and funny word choices at times throughout this read. Economically, it seems that Jack Gantos wasn't too well off, but he also didn't seem terribly poor. This story showed the young, male experience of summer in the 1960s. Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. Jack was grounded for the entire summer of 1962 and he could only leave the house if he was helping his elderly neighbor, Miss Volker, with writing the obituaries that she dictates. During the summer there are many elderly people dying in their neighborhood, so he finds himself solving a murder mystery. This historical and autobiographical children's book covered themes such as growing up and maturing, death, and family and community for middle level readers. With the main theme being death, this book may be difficult to cover in class. However, you could do a Murder Mystery game throughout the reading of the book and see if students can figure out who is killing off the elderly people in the book. This would make the book mysterious and fun! Another activity could be making a wanted poster for the killer, and have them put everything they know abut the perpetrator without actually knowing who it is. This would help the students pay close attention to detail.Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
What do You think about Dead End In Norvelt (2011)?
I really liked this book and you will like this book if you like things about World War II.
—fritzel
Listened to this driving across the country on a roadtrip with the kids. Very Funny!
—amgda
