Jerry Spinelli

DiCamillo, K. (2002). Because of Winn-Dixie. New York: Scholastic. Interest Level Grades: Third grade - Fifth grade Genre: Realistic fiction Summary: Ten year old, India Opal Buloni's mother walked out on her seven years ago. Ever since she left questions have been spinning through her head about what her mother was like. One thing always stays the same that she will never forget he mother. Her father and her decided to move to Naomi, Florida, and things begin to change. She befriends a…

7 Paragraph Summary for Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli The main character’s name is Jeffrey Magee, and he can be described as an 11-year old boy. His parents had died when he was three. He desperately wants to be part of a family and to have a home with an address where he can come back every night. Jeffrey is very athletic and has many unusual skills. He earned the name “Maniac” because of his odd talents, such as bravely going into houses deemed scary by others, untying complicated knots, or…

'It's Yr Life' is a collaborative, young adult novel written by Tristan Bancks and Tempany Deckert. The novel started off as a writing exercise, where the authors took the roles of two teenagers, Sim and Milla. Soon a story began unravelling itself and 'It's Yr Life' was created. The novel is focused on the lives of the two protagonists, Milla, a rich American kid who is the child of a well known Hollywood producer and model mother and Sim, an Australian living in foster care that has to…

The first book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading was Star Girl written by Jerry Spinelli. I read this book in my sixth-grade class, and although it was not my first chapter book I’ve read, it was a book that I have the earliest recollection of reading. This is because it was the first book that grasped my interest and I fully understood the characters, the plot, and the main idea of the story. I was able to make connections with the characters because they dealt with similar things that as a new…

Jerry Spinelli once said, “Don't confine yourself to a select group of friends, often known as a clique. Cliques by definition leaves people out. Lock yourself into one, and you'll never know how many terrific friendships you may be missing.” Today, most people allow themselves to be sorted into friend groups and be labeled by the media. When allowing the media and world around them do this, they can become something they are truly not. Some people don’t let anything but their actions define…

will do, they will try and get a hold of every single bad thing I did. It doesn’t matter what people think of you as long as you know the truth. “I’m not my name. My name is something I wear, like a shirt. It gets worn. I outgrow it, I change it.” – Jerry…

Warsaw Ghetto Although fiction, Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed expertly depicts the horrors that occurred inside and explains the sad truth of the Warsaw ghetto, “Orphans by the thousands roamed the streets in their rags and boils, slumped in doorways, begging for food, clothing, anything. There was nothing to give them. So they starved and froze and died in the snow, their arms frozen outward, still begging. The children who lived were all scraps and eyes. This was the ghetto: where children grew…

When one person declares their overarching importance of another it creates an environment that says it is okay to treat others like they are lesser and show them no respect. An abuser of power becomes corrupt and destroys an effective society while reveling in their own narcissistic successes. Two boys travel together to a land of magic, fantastical sights, beautiful landscapes, and a war ridden society that can only be saved by “the magnificent”. One of the boys, is known as the difficult one…

Maniac Magee was written by Jerry Spinelli and was published by Little, Brown Books in 1990. The book is the 1st paperback edition. It focuses on themes such as racism, homelessness, and family. Jeffrey Magee, also called Maniac, was a young Caucasian boy who is completely indifferent to the racial stereotypes that run the lives of everybody else. He was a kind person, caring deeply about those who treat him well and even those who do not. He was athletic, able to run long distances at great…