Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Joey Pigza


As a writer, my A to Z challenge is going to be about books, characters, TV shows and movies that have impacted me somehow. Enjoy! Be sure to check out Lee’s blog to find more bloggers taking on this challenge!
Joey Pigza

Such an incredible character! I’ve been a teacher for a long time. I’ve never had a class without at least 1 student with ADHD. In fact, there are usually 3 or 4 kids with this condition. Society has a mostly negative attitude towards people who have ADHD. I try to help kids realize there are lots of positive aspects – creativity, a fluid brain, an ability to make quick and accurate connections between seemingly disparate items. Joey Pigza showcases all of this – all sides of the reality. And to boot, the kid has a heart the size of Jupiter. It's nice for kids to read about such a positive character.

Do you know of any other characters who have ADHD? Or characters who aren't always what we expect?

39 comments:

Patricia Stoltey said...

I have never heard of Joey Pigza but this sounds fascinating. This is an excellent "J" in a really interesting theme.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Wonderful J word. Found it most absorbing to read.

Yvonne.

~Sia McKye~ said...

This is a new one for me, too. But I like your thoughts on helping kids realize that there are pluses to ADD and ADHD. They need the reminders. My son has both and he's learned how to deal with ADHD-he's 17 now and about to start college this year. I have ADD. We've had many a discussion on how our brains work and the advantages.

Good topic, Jemi

Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

Shannon Lawrence said...

I wish my brother had gotten to experience a teacher like you. Instead, he had a teacher who repeatedly called him stupid, because of his ADHD. I love that there is a character that addresses ADHD.

Shannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z

Kyra Lennon said...

Joey Pigza sounds fantastic!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

lol, poor Joey. I'm not familiar with this book. Sounds fun, though.

Theresa Milstein said...

I just used this book in my grad school presentation about AD/HD 2 weeks ago. It was perfect for giving classmates an inside view of what it's like to have AD/HD. This is great book! I don't know of any other books with the impairment.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Since I'm long past this age group (and never had kids) I can't recall reading about an ADHD kid.

Unknown said...

Sounds great! I'd going to find a copy of that book.

Mary said...

I love Joey Pigza. He's a great MG character--we used to do a unit in 6th grade with Joey Pigza Loses Control. It's rare to see an MC with ADHD, even though so many of our kids have this diagnosis.

Old Kitty said...

Good for Joey and hoorah for Jack Gantos too! It's great when books highlight just how complex behavioural issues are with children and to do so too in a very positive light!! Take care
x

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Will check this out for the grandkids.
I was lucky enough to have a few nuns who helped me deal even though there wasn't a diagnosis when I was a kid.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I hadn't heard of these books, but awesome that they help your kids in your classes. Great topic for the letter J.

Jemi Fraser said...

Pat - thanks! I'm having a lot of fun with it :)

Yvonne - thank you - glad you enjoyed :)

Sia - thank you! I've taught so many kids over the years with ADD or ADHD and they're almost always surprised to find out there are any advantages to the condition!

Shannon - yikes! That's horrible! If a person can't see the strengths of each child, they have no business being a teacher!!!

Kyra - it really is such a great series :)

Lynda - Joey's a great character, and he gets himself into hilarious troubles!

Theresa - love it! Joey is such a lovable character :)

Alex - that's a very good reason for not knowing Joey :)

Kylie - it really is a lot of fun!

Mary - exactly. I like Joey so much because he's such fun - and he makes kids more comfortable with his situation :)

Old Kitty - exactly! I couldn't have said it better myself!

Mary - I'm glad there are so many great people out there who are willing to help all kids!

Jemi Fraser said...

Natalie - thank you! My kids always like Joey :)

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I will put this on my list to read.

I think as a child I had ADD because I have it now. Never been diagnosed though. People who have this have to do things differently in order to learn. I'm glad you help your students. Many teachers don't understand the ADHD diagnosis because (undertandably) it's a disruption.

T

Unknown said...

Sounds like a wonderful story. ADD is so common today that I'm glad you've got this story.

Julie Dao said...

What a great book, and a very interesting and important topic, too! Back in school, I had so many classmates with ADHD, so it's good that stories are helping spread awareness.

Anonymous said...

My antagonist has ADHD, as brilliant as he is. As the story continues he just gets worse and worse.

Adrienne said...

This sounds like a fantastic book. I've never heard of it, but I will definitely be on the lookout for it!

S. L. Hennessy said...

I couldn't agree more. He's a terrific character.

Leslie S. Rose said...

I have never heard of this book, but I really really need it. My son is challenged by ADHD. I wish I'd had this book to slip him when he was still in school. Thanks for the rec.

Johanna Garth said...

My daughter is dyslexic and she really connects to the dyslexic character of Percey Jackson.

Rosalind Adam said...

I don't know this story but I had the same experience as you when I was a teacher. I never had a class without at least one student suffering from ADHD. There may be positive aspects to it but it does make the job that much harder too.

nutschell said...

never heard of this book but it sounds like an interesting read.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Dropping by from the A-Z!

Sarah Ahiers said...

ooh, i've never even HEARD of this book! It sounds awesome!

Jemi Fraser said...

Karen - thanks! These kids need to know ADHD definitely has an up side to it!

Teresa - ADD and ADHD can be tough for everyone involved - there's a lot to learn. Once we figure out what works for the person, it's a whole lot easier!

Clarissa - it is so common - and it's not a negative. It's just part of who people are. :)

Julie - exactly! It's all about understanding how unique we all are - and what we each have to do to cope and thrive!

Stephen - yes - Nicky does completely fall apart in your stories! He definitely hasn't learned to make it work for him!

Adrienne - it's a great one to encourage reluctant readers too! :)

SL - he really is! Love the heart :)

Leslie - you're welcome. I bet he'll enjoy seeing how Gantos portrays Joey!

Johanna - yes! Riordan did a great job of including dyslexia! I'd forgotten all about that :)

Rosalind - kids with ADHD are pretty busy! They really do need to learn to figure out their systems - not always easy!

Nutschell - it really is!

Sarah - I think it is! I've had many kids enjoy it over the years :)

DL Hammons said...

I've coached a lot of kids in soccer and baseball, many of which had ADHD. From a sports perspective they we usually my best players because they were so full of energy. :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I think the most interesting books are those whose characters surprise us rather than being predictable.

Jemi Fraser said...

DL - lots of energy is definitely one of the strengths of kids who have ADHD! And many of them enjoy sports, so it's a win/win.

Jemi Fraser said...

Susan - (oops! cross posted :)) I agree! Predictability is not usually a lot of fun to read about! :)

Leigh Covington said...

This is awesome. I haven't heard of the book, but it sounds intriguing and I love that you are making kids aware of the positive aspects of ADHD. That is one of the best things I've heard in a long time. It's too easy to focus on the negative - great to have someone seeking the positive!

Jemi Fraser said...

Leigh - thank you! It's easy to seek the positive when you're a teacher - you're always surrounded by so much of it! :) This is a great book to share with all kids!

Anonymous said...

I haven't heard of this book, but it sounds like a wonderful book for teachers to have in their classrooms. Thanks for sharing about it.

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

Jemi Fraser said...

Susanne - I love it! I haven't read it to a whole class yet, but I've had many kids read it themselves. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this book. I put it on my wish list.

Jemi Fraser said...

Medeia - you're welcome! It's a terrific book! :)

blissflower1969 said...

As someone who has ADHD, I wish I had read a book as a kid that gave the positives. Especially since most people only point to the negatives.

Jemi Fraser said...

Bliss - exactly! So many think of ADHD only in the negative terms. There are a lot of positives that go along with the condition. We have to let our kids know that!!!