Good selection for 10-14 year olds. Provokes discussions on orphans- prejudism-segregation and homelessness. Keeps the adolescent reader interested.

I've been passionately in love with this book since the 4th grade. I think it is one of the best children's books ever written, in the many themes it explores.

Heck, you have to give the author credit for writing such an ordinary story in a style usually reserved for legends. For that's what this becomes, an urban legend, a tall tale, of a boy who is simply an ordinary boy. It's real and touching even as it goes over the line to the roll-your-eyes fantastic.

Even as Maniac Magee impresses the locals with his small-time wonders, he is a very real boy with very real emotions. No character in this book is made flat, and everyone is shown in multiple lights.

And yet it still manages to have simple, poignant riding that is easily understood, even if the themes are a little more complex.

One of the greatest books Spinelli has written or will ever write.

Jeffery Magee is a twelve-year-old kid who's parents died in the famous P&W trolley crash. His aunt and Uncle can't agree on anything, not even Jeffery. When they come to the school choir concert they sit on opposite sides of the bleachers, at the end of the song Jeffery is screaming for them to talk. Then he starts running, away from school, away from his aunt and uncle, away from Holidaysburg. Into Two Mills.
Upon arriving in Two Mills Jeffery gets himself into the furious fight between blacks and whites. When he starts living with a family of blacks, the Beales, he finds himself in for alot of trouble, especially from Mars Bars Thompson. Eventually Jeffery, now Maniac Magee, ralizes the trouble he has caused and runs to East end, the white side of town. There he starts living with the Mcnabs, but soon sees that he's only causing trouble there too. In the end Maniac is living in a buffalo pen at the zoo when Amanda Beale and Mars Bars Thompson convince Maniac to live with them in West end, because they don't care if he's white, he is their friend.
Pg 182:
"Let's go."
"Where?"
"Home."
"Who's?"
"Mine. Yours. Ours. Come on, I'm sleepy"...
He knew that finally, truly, at long last, someone was calling him home.
I think this best examplifies the authors purpose in writing this book by saying that if you keep trying and don't give up you will be acceptted no matter what. Also that no matter how the world looks there is always someone who cares about you.
I think that this book is a great contribution to society. It teaches us that growing up can be hard, but there is always something good waiting for you on the other side. Also, it helps us understand that if we preservere we will always make it.
We will make it through life, good or bad, depending on our choices and I think that this book is a great example of that. overall this is a book that anyone who has questions about growing up should read.

I picked up this book back in 3rd grade, and it was the first book that got me in trouble for reading in class. I couldn't put it down. I must have read it once every six months back in elementary school. The story is great, the characters lovable...but the main draw is the ease to identify with the protagonist.

Every kid wants to be, or has felt like, Maniac Magee. I especially recommend this to kids with divorced or deceased parents. When I was little, this book inspired me, and I just know it will inspire generations to come.

As with any book, there are people that LOVE this book and people who hate this book. Teachers are often critized for assigning books because they are on "some list" instead of assigning books students will actually read. I am a teacher. Let me assure you, that at least in my case, I did not choose to assign this book becuase it was on a list or it won an award. In fact I read this book after a student suggested I read it [I have a section where students can recommend books to other]. After reading the book, noticing it's content and genre I started asking around. I found that many 5th and 6th graders liked this book. This is what started our teachers to consider this book as assigned reading - not because it ended up on a list.

Critiques made by others:

1. Confusion

Some students have difficulty undertanding parts of the book. The book is very detailed which has different effects on different students. Some get confused and bored because of the details while others like the details because it helps them understand where Maniac is coming from. I start this book off talking about Tall tales and exaggeration. Then we read the intro which reads like a Tall-tale : "Some say...". This clear some of the confusion.

2. Language

I am VERY cautious of language. I get very frustrated when authors (be it books or screen plays) add in language. I think it takes more craft to allude to language without actually using it. I have read many reviews concerned with the language. I do not feel that this is a concern in this book. The book does mention trash-talking. And although there are some examples (very mild by any standard), the majority was alluded to ("they cursed" or "trash-talking" instead of using the actual words].

3. Racism

I noticed that a few people critized the author for making very racist statements when he described the different colors of black and white people. I think that these people read too much into this. I have friends of many different colors, countries, and cultures. We have had MANY discussions talking about our true colors. We laughed at the terms black and white, because they truly do not describe us.

Also, I know there is concern that the town is racist. Unfortunately, there are still places like this in the U.S. I have found that this has started some really good discussions in the classroom.

After reading Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, I have learned a lot about what it takes to be a good friend. I thought I had good friends before I read it. Friends are supposed to be people you can laugh with, remember forever, and trust enough to ask for a payday loan without any threat of interest. Spinelli produced in Jeffrey Magee a completely different kind of friend.
Maniac, as he came to be known by other characters in the book was homeless, needy, untrusting of most others, independent, and reclusive. He preferred running through town and sleeping with animals at the zoo to staying with his stiff, staunch, and insensitive foster parents. When he does run away, he finds himself in the same town his parents died. He discovers there the racial hate, socio-economic oppression, and disbelief in people he thought he had run away from. But he also discovered that the people there revered him as a legend.
Spinelli wastes no time complicating Magee's life. Soon after he runs away, Maniac is sought after by a neighborhood bully, ousted by racist adults, hunted by arrogant unsupervised white kids, and indebted to the first kind person he meets. Spinelli creates a lovelable boy, with many of the same characteristics as Tom Sawyer, and a lot of the same plights many of his readers recognize from experience. Only one thing makes Magee stand out from all the rest.
Magee is blessed with a shroud of heroism. In his own meandering and misanthropic way, Maniac saves a retired minor league pitcher from his lonliness, restores the legend of a fallen big brother, returns courage to a fearful bully and reaffirms a girls faith in humanity. He also teaches a town to accept differences on both sides of the track...in spite of color differences.
The novel is colored with humor, charm and sincerity. Spinelli seems to be unfolding real events on a neon canvas. So bright and amusing they can't possibly be real, these moments resonate with whispers of reality. Parts of Spinelli's childhood seep from the pages, touching the lives of all readers and embracing the childhood some have yet to leave behind.
Readability is enhanced by short fast paced chapters, a subtle thread of suspense and a genuine curiosity about what Maniac Magee will do next. No matter who reads this book, Magee is sure to run them down leaving their minds stamped with Jerry Spinelli's gifted writing.

During my years as an elementary and high school librarian, I read all of the Newbery Award winners from 1922 on. Jerry Spinelli's "Maniac," the 1991 winner, is one of my favorites both for its humor and its very effective message about learning and living tolerance for those who are different from us. Vona Van Cleef, bookwoman

Jeffrey Magee's parents wre killed in a train accident when he was just a child, so he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who hated each other. He couldn't stand the tension between them, so he ran away. And boy could Jeffrey run. After a year of running, he ends up in a town he really likes. His first day there, he meets a black girl who reluctantly lends him a book from her vast collection. He amazes people all day in both the white and black sections of town, and he decides to stay. He spends his nights in one of the animal pens of the zoo, where he can eat some of their food and have their companionship. Soon he is famous in town and is given the name Maniac.

Maniac spends his time in town befriending a wide variety of people, and trying to confront and stop the racism he observes all around him.

This book is a nice story of innocence . Jeffrey is always trying to do the right thing, and the people in town take him in very openly. However, it seems that someone in this story should have tried to find Jeffrey's guardians and should have made him go to school instead of just letting him wander. I didn't like that the book didn't really have any conclusion; it was just a series of events.

I read this book at 10, and it's been with me ever since. The themes on racism and courage still resonate when I stumble upon similar experiences. It is deeply moving--so what if some questions are never answered! (A fact I honestly don't recall...) It's in my children's library.

Well, through his son, I do. He was my art teacher in middle school, and he got my books signed for me.

Anyways...

Good book. Don't let the made for TV movie fool you.

The thing that I liked the most about this story is that it deals with many of the issues that young people are faced with in a way that is not offensive. I found myself cheering with tears in my eyes when Jeffery finally has a "family". This story is at the heart of what is really important for young people, a sense of belonging...being a part of something larger than yourself, and of course tolerance. What this story may have lacked in "reality" as some reveiwers stated, it more than made up for with the depiction of what a "family" truly is. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to others!

Though this story has as a theme a sort of love for one's neighbor, from the beginning of the book I was offended. Within the first few paragraphs, Spinelli, whether intentionally or not, makes a statement about Catholics. The aunt and uncle hate each other but "because they were strict Catholics" did not believe in divorce. That's it. It seems like an innocuous statement, but for the undescriminating 9 year old, it depicts Catholics as some kind of hard hearted, legalistic religion. If the aunt and uncle were living their faith they would have made an effort to overcome their hatred, a sentiment that is contrary to Catholicism. Instead, their growing hatred is the catalyst for Magee taking off. Pretty ironic start for the peacemaker now isn't it? I would not let my own children read this nor can I recommend this book. A much better book about character development for this age group would be Johnny Tremain.

maniac is a maniac alriht but in a good way color blind to everyone maniac travels places others wouldnt and touches everyone he meets

"What's true, what's myth? It's hard to know."- Jerry Spinelli

Jeffrey Lionel Magee was only three years old when his parents died. They died in a high-speed trolley crash when the motorman was drunk. He was shipped off to his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan's house in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. His aunt and uncle hated each other and didn't talk to each other at all but they wouldn't get a divorce because they were strict Catholics. Jeffrey had to live with that for eight years. How boring would that be? He finally ran away.

Jeffrey ran and ran and stopped in a town called Two Mills. The west and east ends of the town are divided in half, one side for black families and one side for white. That's pretty racist if you ask me. Jeffrey meets a friend in the east (black) end of town named Amanda Beale. He does a whole bunch of crazy stuff in sports and other things that all of the other kids are afraid to do. To find out exactly how Jeffrey got his nickname "Maniac", you have to read the book.

I learned a lot about how having a strong family is important and that you have to take risks to become recognized and to feel good. It was a pretty fun book.

this was one of my first books to read. i was 13 (roughly) and was bored on day. i'm now 24, my first paycheck i bought it, and i've read it at least 3 times since then. the book isnt supposed to be realistic. it takes the reader on an adventure. if spinelli wanted a realistic book, he would have based on the Children's Crusade or something along those lines, if he was aiming (the audience, or reader) at the children or adults. this is a good story to read to kids for bedtime, or just it gives them something to do besides cleaning their room or running around driving the parents crazy.

Maniac Magee was a really good book. What I liked about it is that when you entered a new part it was like there was a new story. What I disliked about the story was that sometimes you can't understand the story when there is a new chapter, but that's all right.

Jeffery "Maniac" Magee lives in the time of the civil war. When the blacks were separated from the whites. Jeffery Magee (a white boy) was just three when his parents died in a horrific accident. After the accident Jeffery had to live with his aunt and uncle who hated each other. At the age of eleven he decided to run away 200 miles away from "home" on foot for 51 weeks and finally ended up in Two Mills. In Two Mills there is one side of the street for blacks and one for whites, no one is allowed to cross the street. While he is there he runs into Amanda Beale (a black girl), Jeffery thinks that she is a run away to because she is carrying a suitcase (which has books in it.) After a while Jeffery stay with Amanda and does a lot of stuff that makes him famous like untying the famous Cobble's Knot. However Jeffery discovers something and runs away again and stays with the Mcnab's. As he stays with the Mcnab's he realizes he is more wanted with Amanda's family no matter what color or side of the street.
I liked the book because it was interesting and full of surprises. This book shows the hardship of the time during the civil war but Maniac Magee does not slow him down!!!!

The book was good. It didn't have anything funny like it said it would.
Jrffery Magee lost his parents at the age of three. He went to go live with his aunt and uncle who hated eachother but wouldn't get a divorce. Finally at the age of eleven he runs away. He lived durring the time of the civil war so the whites were seperated from the blacks. Not knowing this he goes to the west side where all the blacks live and stays with a family called the Beals. After a while he runs away from there too. Eventhough he loved them. Will he ever go back? Will the name "Maniac" stick forever?
The type of person who would like this book is someone who likes books writin by Jerry Spinelli.

jerry spinelli tries to picture maniac as an 11 year old runaway who has it bad in the world. please! all he faces is the average bullying and the consequences of his stupid choices. lots of worse things could happen. (murder, kidnap etc.) and the people were so weird! they were either really nice or really mean turned nice. it was like by the end he had no enemies. and i was surprised by the adults. this one woman let him eat dinner at her house, no question OR name. and i thought at least one person would call the police to bring him back to his aunt and uncle. maniac magee is a really confusing and weird book. don't read it!

Maniac Magee was about a 15 year old kid who runs away downtown . He runs into a girl with a suitcase. He thinks she runs away but its full of books. The girl's name was Amanda Beil. She let Maniac stay with her until Maniac went to untie a huge knot . After he untied it he meets a guy named Grayson. They have fun with each other until Grayson dies.

This book was very good. I give it 4 stars and two thumbs up. It was able to keep my attention, unlike a lot of other books. Well, I didn't like when Grayson dies.

I thought Maniac Magee was a good book. It would keep the reader's attention and would make them want to read more. Maniac Magee was a runaway who lived in Two Mills. Then on his daily run he runs into Amanda Beale. She is carrying a suitcase so Maniac thinks she is a ruaway as well. Then later he figures out she's not a runaway and he goes to live with her. There are a couple people who don't like him until he unties Cobble's knot, then they liked him. They found out how long the knot was. It was 4.5 blocks long. Then later a man named Earl Grayson finds Maniac in the buffalo pen and takes care of him, until Earl dies. Then he goes to live with the McNab's, then the Hickwells, and at the end he just ends up going to live with Amanda Beale.

I like this book because it writes in the language of a middle schooler. It also got very exciting in the middle of the book. It was so cool because he had to make friends with the deer and other people. I also liked it because he loves to run and I love to run. It was good because he could make friends easily.

Jeffery Lionel Magee... Maniac Magee... whatever you want to call him, he is still the same person. It all started when Jeffery's parents die, and has to move to his uncle and aunt's house, the house with two toasters, two TVs, everthing doubled, since they hate each other. One day, Jeffery gets sick of it, ands runs away. Jeffery soon ends up in Two Mills, the town that splits the town from the whites and blacks. After visiting each side, Jeffery soon finds what caused the resentment. Will Jeffery bring peace to the town?

I thought this book was decent.
The things I liked where how Maniac Magee did what he wants
when he wants to. Some of the things in the book that I disliked
were that he did not have any parents and he was not afraid of
anything or anyone. If I could change anything in the book it
would be that he had some parents and that his parents left him
at a parade and he was on a journey to find his parents.

I thought the book was good, but not great. The characters and everything were pretty descriptive, like they were well explained or detailed, but in some parts of the book it was kind of slow.
The book is about a boy named Jeffrey Magee whose parents passed away. He soon becomes called "Maniac" because of his crazy stunts or athletics. Whether it was punting the ball 50 yards or snagging the ball form the best reciever in town, he was proven to be an athletic person. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read a good book.
That is why I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

this book was an ok book it was not the most interesting book but it kept me focused. The things i like the most about this book was that maniac magee was an achiver.Even though he didnt have much no family and no were to live.He still acomplished his goals.The things i dislike about this book is that the book was kinda going on about the same part for to long but. the lesson i learned form this book is that anythings is possible.

I would give maniac magee a 4 out of 5 stars because it's humorous, interesting, and even has some sad parts. Maniac was an orphan because his parents died in an accident. He changes his name and becomes a drifter. He runs around towns and meets some really interesting people on the way. He becomes a local hero to many but not all. Overall, this book is a 4 star book. I would recommend it to any one who enjoy's any of Jerry Spinelli's novel's.

Manic Magee is about a boy who's run away from his home because his parents died in a car accident. he didn't want to live with his grandmother.So he ran til he stopped at a town it has been divided in two one side for the whites and another for blacks.
As Maniac looked around he bumped into a girl she dropped her books and manic helped her they talk and got to meet each other.He got to live with them until some kids wrote go home on their house he later might other kids too.I liked that it seemed like a real story that as happened.I disliked that it real didn'tcatch my eye in the first time.

This book is about a boy named Jeffery Leon Magee. He lost his mother, father and sister on a trolley because a drunk driver hit them.
Jeffery had to go live with his aunt abd uncle. ( they dont get along very well at all ). They have two of everything. what i disliked about this book is it seemed very slow at some parts. Also, the author would be talking about something then he would then droping the subject. the things i liked about this book was it had great detail! It used great words instead of boring and dull words. I would probably recommend this book to a person who loves to read. I would give this book three stars!

This book is about a boy everyone calls Maniac Magee. Everyone says he lives in a dump but that's not true. No One really took the time to talk to him.
Not because he was a maniac, but because he was always to busy running to even notice any one. Until he met Amanda Beale, and that was a mistake.
I give this book 3 stars because it kinda had a slow beginning . It was very descriptive and that's what I liked about it because it was easy to picture what was going on.
I would recommend this book to someone who likes adventure because in this book Maniac runs to a lot of different places and experiences a lot of new things.

Jeffrey Lional Magee was was nothing special, he was just like every other boy. One day when he was three, his parents died in a trolley crash, where he went to live with his aunt and uncle. Things get stressful living there as he gets older because his uncle and aunt hate eachother, so his living environment is completely seperated. eight years after the crash, he ran away from home and traveled two-hundred miles on foot for fifty-one weeks from Holidaysburg to Two Mills. While he was there, he becomes a legend on the East End as well as the West End. Not only for his amazing Knot untieing skills, his allergy to pizza or his amazing running speed, But for his complete unawareness to the seperation of blacks and whites in this small town. From bunting a homerun frogball to living in the buffalo pen, he soon comes to realize Two Mills was definitely not ready for his arrival. I personally loved this book and all the wacky events that take place in it. This story makes for great reading and once you start it, you cant put it down.

I liked the book Maniac Magee because it was very touching. This book talks about a boy named Jeffery Magee who was orphaned and forced to live on his own at a very y. On his journey to find a permanent home he makes some new friends. I liked the twists that the author added when he got a home and then had to move. The only part parts that I didnt like was when the book spent a page or two talking about how Maniac and Mars bar ran next to each other.
I would also recomend this book because it teaches you about the nicer things in life that money cant buy.

I thought that you used a little to much detail in your story. Like the ending I thought it was boring example here is the is the last paragraph of content to let amanda do the talking,for he knew that behind her grumbling was all that he had ever wanted,he knew that finally,truely, at long last, someone was calling him home I give this book a 1 of 5 and I recommened this to all that like books that are long,stupid,and very very boring.

Dear Jerry Spinelli,

I think that this book was ok. I would rate it a 1.
The good thing about this book is that it could happen in real life and people would really notice it like they would in this book.
The things i didnt like about this book would have to be is the way it was written because i kept getting lost. It would jump around into different settings and topics.
The thing i would change about the book Maniac Magee would have to be ... how it was written.

Sincerely,
Alexa

**i would not recomend this book to anyone**

I am using this book with my students. They seem to enjoy the book, and enjoy discussing Jeffery (Maniac). I feel that the characters are well developed which in turn brings out the problems with the two sides of the new town. We read a book dealing with prejudious and racism last year. Therefore, I felt using a book that was in the same vein, but taking a different tatic on the subject would also be good. I like a book that keeps the students interest. Also it makes it good for comprehension, and it will lead to some writing assignments as well.

I like this book because it's about a kid who has many talents. He gets himself out of challenging situations and faces hard problems he didn't know exisited. It's cool that he doesn't care about what color people are. My favorite part of the book was when he met Grayson who was a baseball player. He was an older guy and "Maniac" taught him how to read. Grayson taught him how to play baseball. I like baseball books but this book has more of a story. It's a story of a kid's life who ran away from "home" and is looking for a real home and he has many adventures while he searches. In the book, there are separate sides to a town and I didn't like that there were two sides, one white, one black. We are all the same in God's eyes. People shouldn't treat others unfairly because they look different. I'm glad in the end Maniac got a home. I recommend this book to anybody who is white or black.

The book I read is called Maniac Magee. This book is about an orphan who lost his parents in a trolley accident when Jeffrey (Maniac's real name) was three years old. After this happens, he goes to live with his Uncle Dan and Aunt Dot who hate each other but don't get a divorce. They have separate everything- separate rooms, separate bathrooms, separate kitchens, and so on. One night Maniac runs out of the gym and keeps running and running. Finally 51 weeks later he ends up in Two Mills, Pennsylvania, 200 miles away from where his uncle Dan and Aunt Dot lived. Mr. Beale takes him back to his house and he gets to live there. He became known as Maniac in Two Mills because he could do everything.
I loved this book because it is funny and also serious at the same time. It amuses me, but also made me sad.My favorite book ever was The Outsiders and now after I read this book i think it is a close tie. On a scale of one to five I would give it a five.

This perhaps has to be my fav. Jerry Spinelli book.
It's about this boy Jeffrey Lionel Magee(Maniac) And one day his parents die in a trolley crash, so he has to live with his Aunt&Uncle. But He runs away 'cause they hate each other.So then he ends up in this town that is seperated by Blacks and Whites.
And so,like He's a legend divided into Truth and Myth, Anyways he meets Amanda Beale and Mars bar,Grayson,The Cobras and so many other people and problems of him having a home and his race.
Theres Three parts to this 184 paged novel and it's really good.
I recommend it!
p.s. I wish this comment wasn't so quick,sorry!

Maniac is a boy that had been hated by everyone includidg his family. He never had a stable home, and he had different kinds of love. He had the most adventurous life that i know. Everyone knew that he had special talents. He had done alot of impressing things. To begin with he untide the biggest knot in the whole world, he is allergic to pizza, well if interested inthe book read it because it might be your story.

The book I read was called Maniac Magee. This book was written by Jerry Spinelli. The main conflict of this book is Maniac Magee running away to the black side of town and trying to make peace between the blacks and the whites.
This book was so exciting to read. It was so exciting because I felt so into it and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. I felt like I was in the book. I felt in this way because the author made it seem so real with his descriptions, I could just see everything that was happening in my head. The main conflict was very interesting. It was so interesting because there was always something new that Maniac Magee had to face. There were a bunch of little problems that revolved around him as a result of living on the black side of town. The characters felt very real in this book. When the author would explain the characters I got such a good picture of them that it felt like they were right in front of me. The book ending was very satisfying to me. It was so satisfying because it made the whole book worthwhile. If you want to find out what happened in the end then you'll have to read the book for yourself.
Jerry Spinelli is the author of Maniac Magee. He writes the story as a narrative. He is the story teller of Maniac Magee's life. He uses basic vocabulary that is very simple but interesting. He doesn't use a lot of dialog in this book. He uses it only when necessary to hear a character speak. He does use a lot of description which tells the story of Maniac Magee's life. I enjoy how the author wrote the book. Its simple but to the point and he makes the story very exciting to read. You never want to put the book down.
I would rate this book a nine out of ten. I would give it such a good rating because the author always kept me guessing throughout the story and I liked the whole concept of it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I would recommend it to anyone because it is a great book and it is so interesting. It is also not a hard book to read.
This book was one of my favorite books I have ever read. I think that the author did a great job writing this book. The only thing he could have changed about this book is to make it longer because I never wanted to stop reading. I didn't want the story to end because it was so entertaining. I look forward to reading other books by Jerry Spinelli. Another thing that happened in this book was that Maniac Magee was challenge to unknot the biggest knot in the whole world. He was great on undoing knots so he accepted the challenge. After a playing around with the knot for a wile Maniac Magee undid it and he was rewarded with a yearly supply of pizza. I wish I could get a yearly supply of pizza too.

What comes to your mind when I say the word "maniac?" You may think of someone crazy running around wildly, right? Well, Maniac Magee, this is wrong. Maniac is the main character, and he runs away when his aunt and uncle are fighting. It is an enjoyable story, but like most really good stories way too short.

The book review of Maniac Magee

Have you ever read a book and wanted to know what was going to happen next but had to put the book down? Well this book is that kind of book. This book teaches you a lot of good lessons like not to cross that line. My opinion is you should read this and figure out just what kind of line I'm talking about. Maniac is the kind of person who's caring, helpful, makes a lot friends and feels like he isn't wanted until the Beales come along. It's Amanda her two brothers and dog and Mrs, Beale and Mr. Beale.
This story is mainly at houses or outside. Maniac finds the people he wants to live with and then runs away. Every one told him he was on the wrong side .So somebody griffteed the Beales house and left this nasty word. Mrs. Beale couldn't quit get it off before he got home. He saw it and ran inside got his stuff and then took off. It was really sad that such a good boy like him had gotten treated like that. He became friends with a new person nobody imagined and went and lived with him and his two brothers and his dad his dad was very armyish they ate a lot of beans two and did crazy stuff.
Maniac is a good hearted person who went from like three different houses and got close to a lot of people like Grayson the Beales and mars bars. I didn't talk about Grayson yet did I. Grayson was a base ball coach but he retired and maniac lived with him for awhile then he found out that he had died it was tragic maniac was close to Grayson the met at the baseball diamond in the park. Grayson inspired him to dream big and that he could do a lot and don't let people bring you down. Maniacs parents died hen he was little on the P&W trolley. Maniac went and lived with his aunt dot and Uncle Dan they had two of everything. They didn't get along too well. Maniac decide to leave he was getting tired of all that yelling, two toasters the two of everything.
Kobbles knot is about this knot that is the biggest knot in the world basically. Alls I know is its real big and a lot of people have tried to get there name and picture on the news paper. Nobodys concored it yet until maniac comes along. Everybody always came to maniac if they had like a shoelace that needed to be unknotted. They just thought this would be a little bit longer. At the end guns popping sirens going cars beeping the knot was done finished nothing but string.
Maniac Magee goes through a lot of things in this book and helps out a lot of people and cares about a lot of people. In the end he lives with the Beales and he was living in a zoo. Amanda and mars bars came and got him and said how many people have you helped out we need you this town needs you. I think you should read this book because it teaches you a lot about life and if your in a situation what you should do. It teaches you about life you can learn something thing from it.

We think Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli has a strong plot.Maniac is the main charchter who run away because hisaunt and uncle weren't getting along.
One good reason why Maniac Magee has a strong plot is that it shows good emotion. We can tell how sad Jefferee (Maniac) felt when Grayson died.Grayson is this old man that finds maniac in a zoo, so he takes him to his place and lets him live with him. He thought he had a loving family and a home, but as soon as he settled in Grayson died.
Lot of kids could relate to this book, because it teaches them how running away from your problems will sometimes not solve anything. Lots of kids feel like running away but they shouldn't because there will be some that will miss you a lot and some people don't know what they have untill they lose it all.
Some really good interactions were sweet and loving, like the interaction between Grayson and Jeffrey. How they bonded and hung out a lot. Some others interaction where aggressive and mean, like the interaction between Mars Bar Thompson and Jeffrey.
We think you should definitely read Maniac Magee because it shows good emotion that people can relate to.

Why do we segregate in our world of peace? In Maniac Magee the whites are on a different side of the street than the blacks. It takes 1 little white boy to bring them together after his parents die in a trolley accident; And after his aunt and uncle stop talking to each other.
In this book the whites are on the west and of Hector street and blacks on the other side of the street. This finds a home with a black family at 728 Sycamore street. Then when someone starts threatening him and his family. So he runs away again. After that he meets an old guy named Grayson. After Christmas Grayson dies in his sleep.
When Maniac is in the west end he sees some old friends and they ask him to come to their party. Maniac says okay if he can bring someone with him. He ended up coming with a black kid. And if you want to know how this story ends then you better read Maniac Magee!
The themes of the book is to give every body a second chance and don't judge people who you don't because then you won't want to get to know them. This book is fictional, but it is foramina. This book is one of the best books that I have ever read. Jerry Spinelli is an awesome writer, he has such an imagination. I would recommend this book to young readers that like fictional books.

Maniac Magee
Book Review

Maniac Magee is about a kid whose parent's died in a car accident, because there was a drunken man who crashed into his parent's car. That night he became an orphan. When he was about 8 years old, he lived with his uncles, and runway from them. Maniac Magee (the main character) knows how to live in the streets. One day he meets Amanda and asks her for a book, and he ask her where she lives so he could take the book to her house. A week later, he returns the book to her, and Mrs. Beales ask him where he lives and said out side so the Beales ask if he would like to live with them and he said yes.

I think this book is a good book to read, because it has a good them (don't be afraid in until you know what will happen). Because it is talking about what happen to him, and that he had to face all this problem`s alone with out his parent's being there. The theme is telling you that you should not be afraid of something until you know what will happen. In addition, what will you do if it happens to you? Would runway too?

Every one should read the book, especially middle school students, because you can see in your mind what is happening. And you can understand the word choice very well. You will like it to.

Maniac Magee
Book Review

Maniac Magee is about a kid whose parent's died in a car accident, because there was a drunken man who crashed into his parent's car. That night he became an orphan. When he was about 8 years old, he lived with his uncles, and runway from them. Maniac Magee (the main character) knows how to live in the streets. One day he meets Amanda and asks her for a book, and he ask her where she lives so he could take the book to her house. A week later, he returns the book to her, and Mrs. Beales ask him where he lives and said out side so the Beales ask if he would like to live with them and he said yes.

I think this book is a good book to read, because it has a good them (don't be afraid in until you know what will happen). Because it is talking about what happen to him, and that he had to face all this problem`s alone with out his parent's being there. The theme is telling you that you should not be afraid of something until you know what will happen. In addition, what will you do if it happens to you? Would runway too?

Every one should read the book, especially middle school students, because you can see in your mind what is happening. And you can understand the word choice very well. You will like it to.


By: Brenda C. Reyes S.

Maniac Magee
Book Review

Maniac Magee is about a kid whose parent's died in a car accident, because there was a drunken man who crashed into his parent's car. That night he became an orphan. When he was about 8 years old, he lived with his uncles, and runway from them. Maniac Magee (the main character) knows how to live in the streets. One day he meets Amanda and asks her for a book, and he ask her where she lives so he could take the book to her house. A week later, he returns the book to her, and Mrs. Beales ask him where he lives and said out side so the Beales ask if he would like to live with them and he said yes.

I think this book is a good book to read, because it has a good them (don't be afraid in until you know what will happen). Because it is talking about what happen to him, and that he had to face all this problem`s alone with out his parent's being there. The theme is telling you that you should not be afraid of something until you know what will happen. In addition, what will you do if it happens to you? Would runway too?

Every one should read the book, especially middle school students, because you can see in your mind what is happening. And you can understand the word choice very well. You will like it to.

Maniac Magee
Book Review

Maniac Magee is about a kid whose parent's died in a car accident, because there was a drunken man who crashed into his parent's car. That night he became an orphan. When he was about 8 years old, he lived with his uncles, and runway from them. Maniac Magee (the main character) knows how to live in the streets. One day he meets Amanda and asks her for a book, and he ask her where she lives so he could take the book to her house. A week later, he returns the book to her, and Mrs. Beales ask him where he lives and said out side so the Beales ask if he would like to live with them and he said yes.

I think this book is a good book to read, because it has a good them (don't be afraid in until you know what will happen). Because it is talking about what happen to him, and that he had to face all this problem`s alone with out his parent's being there. The theme is telling you that you should not be afraid of something until you know what will happen. In addition, what will you do if it happens to you? Would runway too?

Every one should read the book, especially middle school students, because you can see in your mind what is happening. And you can understand the word choice very well. You will like it to.

I would recommend sixth graders read Maniac Magee. I rate it four stars. Jerry Spinelli made it is very humorous and interesting. Maniac had to live outside in a dump. He was homeless which is very sad. He had to overcome alot of challenges like the death of his parents and his best friend Grayson. Maniac had to learn how to take care of himself. I think everyone would find this book funny, sad and interesting. Just read this AWESOME book.

I recommend sixth graders to read Maniac Magee because it has a very humorous and interesting introduction. Maniac had to live outside in a dump. He was homeless which was very sad. He had to overcome a lot of challenges like the death of his parents. The way he played baseball with a frog instead of a ball was hilarious. Also, the adventure of what happened when he went into the Finsterwalds's backyard. The race that Mars Bar challenged him to was really funny. Another part in the introduction that was humorous was because Maniac Magee had never been to church and how Maniac, Amanda Beale, her little brother and sister all started saying amen in church.
Another interesting part in the book that I liked was the climax. Maniac ran away from his aunt, uncle, and friends. I called it a challenging climax because Maniac was living in the zoo in the buffalo pen. That would be very challenging to live outside with animals. One day he fell down off of the gate and hit his head on a rock. He then went go to the hospital. After he left the hospital, he went to live with a new person named Grayson. Grayson became his very best friend. The other challenging part for Maniac was when his best friend Grayson died. Maniac Magee was so sad that he ran back to live in the buffalo's pen. He had to learn how to take care of himself.
I believe that all sixth graders should read this book because it has humor and challenges. It was a very funny book even though there was a part in it that was sad. A sixth grader may be able to relate to how Maniac Magee felt if they have ever lost someone they loved. I think that any sixth grader would find this book funny, sad, and interesting.

AWESOME BOOK!!!!

I recommend sixth graders to read Maniac Magee because it has a very humorous and interesting introduction. Maniac had to live outside in a dump. He was homeless which was very sad. He had to overcome a lot of challenges like the death of his parents. The way he played baseball with a frog instead of a ball was hilarious. Also, the adventure of what happened when he went into the Finsterwalds's backyard. The race that Mars Bar challenged him to was really funny. Another part in the introduction that was humorous was because Maniac Magee had never been to church and how Maniac, Amanda Beale, her little brother and sister all started saying amen in church.

Another interesting part in the book that I liked was the climax. Maniac ran away from his aunt, uncle, and friends. I called it a challenging climax because Maniac was living in the zoo in the buffalo pen. That would be very challenging to live outside with animals. One day he fell down off of the gate and hit his head on a rock. He then went go to the hospital. After he left the hospital, he went to live with a new person named Grayson. Grayson became his very best friend. The other challenging part for Maniac was when his best friend Grayson died. Maniac Magee was so sad that he ran back to live in the buffalo's pen. He had to learn how to take care of himself.

I believe that all sixth graders should read this book because it has humor and challenges. It was a very funny book even though there was a part in it that was sad. A sixth grader may be able to relate to how Maniac Magee felt if they have ever lost someone they loved. I think that any sixth grader would find this book funny, sad, and interesting.