Information for Students

Author: Jerry Spinelli Title: Maniac Magee

Book Genre: Traditional Publishing Info: Little, Brown and Company pp184

Summary: This is a story about a legend, Jeffrey Lionel Magee, also known as Maniac Magee. His life becomes a legend after his parents died and left him an orphan. After his parents died, he went to live with his aunt and uncle, but runs away because they refuse to talk to each other. He becomes a homeless kid who can run fast, great athlete, and the best knot UN tier. He touches and makes a difference in people’s lives. The best thing he is a legend for is what he did for the kids from the East side (the white side) and the West side (the black side). Maniac Magee has many elements of a tall tale the main character has a unique mission to accomplish, problems that are solved with humor, and the adventures are exaggerated.

Personal Rating: * * * *

Rationale: Well writing, great plot, adventurous, not boring, exciting, believable circumstances, funny, touching, and sad events, problem solving, and believable characters.

Information for Teacher

Reading Level: 5.4 Interest Level: 4th-8^th

Thematic Areas: friendship; homelessness; survival; values; discrimination; bullies; belonging; families; death; legends

Content Area: History; science; math; social studies; language Arts, values

Potential Problems or Difficulties: At times there is a harsh view towards life. Hatred towards black and white people is evident in the book. The story portrays that it is ok not to go to school if you read books. A sense of not belonging, no family.

Possible uses in classroom: History lesson on segregation, compare how the book portrays blacks and white to present time, discuss some solutions to help solve the problem of segregation and how Maniac Magee tried to help solve this problem in Two Mills. Study the zoo animals mentioned in Maniac Magee, research all the animals and discover which ones are friendly or not so friendly. Discuss the reason why Maniac Magee choose the Buffalo cage as a place to sleep at night and ask students to choose an animal in the zoo that they would consider a safe place to sleep. In groups have the students develop a skit that portrays a life of a homeless child. Discuss how society can prevent homelessness and how Maniac Magee survived being homeless as a kid. Discuss the difference between a homeless life style and children who are not homeless. Define the word legend and have students choose a person they consider a legend, and then compare them to Maniac Magee life.