Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Jack Gantos got the idea for Dead End in Norvelt after he gave a eulogy for his dead aunt. (Hey, that reminds us a lot of narrator-Jack writing obituaries.) (Source)
Jack Gantos has been more than just grounded for the summer. In fact, he may be the only Newbery award-winning author who has spent time in a federal penitentiary. It turns out that Gantos spent 18 months in prison for drug smuggling charges. It was while he was in prison that he actually became a writer. (Source)
Jack's dad was not the only one wanting to build a bomb shelter in the 1960s. It turns out that it was a widespread craze. Lots of families all over America got into the act. Is there a bomb shelter in your neighborhood? (Source)