Maniac magee is a novel by jerry spinelli in which jeffrey lionel maniac magee is orphaned and spends his youth living with various people in his small, racially segregated. He becomes a local legend for feats of athleticism and helpfulness, and his ignorance of sharp racial boundaries in the town. Each creative project has a description of what needs to be included. Little, brown and company takes great pleasure and pride in announcing that, effective immediately, we will be the sole publisher of the paperback edition of jerry spinellis classic newbery medal winner, maniac magee. Maniac moves around from house to house, living with the beales, then with the zoo keeper earl grayson, and then with the mcnabs.
Exploring themes of racism and inequality, it follows the story of an orphan boy looking for a home in the fictional town of two mills. Here is a maniac magee reading end of novel project choices with rubric. Maniac magee is about jeffrey lionel magees search for home and the racial prejudice in the town of two mills. Oct 20, 2008 a presentation of diaromas of maniac magee s homes. Parents need to know that jerry spinellis maniac magee is an exciting, moving, and sometimes funny story, brilliantly told, about an orphan boy who runs away from his feuding aunt and uncle at age 8 and makes a name and legend for himself in a. Maniac magee faces negativity due to his race throughout the book, but he eventually finds a home through the friends who come to love him as family. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli is a young adult novel published in 1990. Click on the picture to see other books written by. Well explore the major events and problems in the book, and discuss its conclusion. Published in the 1990s, spinelli decided to focus on an issue that was not widely discussed within the school systems and chose to inform fifth graders about segregation and the effect this can have on a persons moral character. Maniac magee, lived with his parents until he was 3 years old.
The story of jeffrey lionel magee, aka maniac, has become a school standard since its publication in 1990. Maniac magee is considered as an important literary work. It won the 1991 newbery medal and remains a vital, relevant classic. Maniac desperately tries to retrieve the book and is unsuccessful.
Living in the band shell, maniac has an address again 101 band shell boulevard and a family in the form of earl grayson. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Maniac magee accelerated project options what is going on at two option 5. This is a complete novel study that includes many individual products bundled together to o. He came into this world named jeffrey lionel magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. It deals with racism and its effects on a young man who, though white, finds more warmth. In 1990, spinelli won both the newbery medal and the boston globe horn book award for his novel maniac magee. Ill tell you a little about the story, but not a lot, because i. Maniac magee the history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball, according to jerry spinellis introductory chapter in his novel maniac magee. Feeling his race is making trouble for the generous beale family, maniac shuttles back and forth between the east and west end, searching for family and a. Maniac magee novel unit is a common core standard aligned book study to be used with maniac magee by jerry spinelli.
The reason why i chose maniac magee is because i love jerry spinelli books. In the middle of the scene, amanda shows up and scolds mars while demanding he return the book. Maniac magee is not just any book or story it is a. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli, book trailer by angie wheeler duration. He becomes a legend for his interaction with both blacks and whites as well as his amazing feats such as bunting the frog jokingly pitched to him in a baseball game, untying the huge knot that has long hung in front of a. Free maniac magee worksheets and literature unit for.
Its about jeffrey lionel magee, sometimes known as maniac magee, and about the people of the fictional town of two mills. Review each project option below and select one to complete for maniac magee. Parents need to know that jerry spinellis maniac magee is an exciting, moving, and sometimes funny story, brilliantly told, about an orphan boy who runs away from his feuding aunt and uncle at age 8 and makes a. Maniacs feelings are hurt when amanda tells him that he cant get a library card without an address. The relationship of kids to racial identity in maniac magee has been used as a topic in a number of studies. The students in elementary school also read it as a part of the curricula. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli tells the story of a boy, a legend who has lost everything. An occasionally longwinded, but always affecting, parablelike story about racism and ignorance. At the age of three, jeffrey magee loses both of his parents in a tragic accident. They have a conflict when maniac magee wants to move out of the beales house and back into the deer pen. You might try the following activities with the class before handing out the book. Jeffrey lionel maniac magee is an orphan and finds himself in two mills, where he becomes a local legend. Exciting, moving story explores racism, myth making.
Maniac says he will just get a library card and amanda says he cant. Amanda says she was just about ready to let him read her encyclopedia a but since hes leaving, he cannot. It has been eight years since maniac magee won both the prestigious boston globehorn book award and the newbery medal, and its popularity among young. We fix the car together with daddy little angel kids songs and nursery rhymes duration. Maniac magee is a book that stuck with me long after i read it in fifth grade for the first time.
Comprehension by chapter, vocabulary challenges, creative reading response activities and projects, tests, and much more. She brings maniac into her home where he is introduced to the beale family. Project ideas maniac magee, novel activities, novel guides. How could we not, when maniac magee finally ends with maniac simply content that finally, truly, at long last, someone was calling him home 46. Maniac tries to find a home, soothes tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town, and becomes a true hero. The legend of maniac magee theme two mills is divided in two, until maniac, who is white finds a home with a black family. Write their ideas on the board, then have a volunteer look up the word in a dictionary.
After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli paperback book the parent store. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, tie a knot no one. Jeffrey lionel maniac magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadnt made him an orphan. The books protagonist, jeffery or maniac magee, is orphaned at a young age and runs away to two mills in search of a home. It deals with racism and its effects on a young man who, though white, finds more warmth and kindness on the black side of town than on his own side. Jerry spinelli is the author of over fifteen immensely popular books for young readers, including eggs, stargirl, space station seventh grade, newbery honor winner wringer, and maniac magee, winner of more than fifteen state childrens book awards in addition to the newbery medal. Parents need to know that jerry spinellis maniac magee is an exciting, moving, and sometimes funny story, brilliantly told, about an orphan boy who runs away from his feuding aunt and uncle at age 8 and makes a name and legend for himself in a racially divided town. Maniac magee is a folk story about a boy, a very excitable boy. It stuck with me more than in just a lifelong love of butterscotch krumpets, but also in the sweetness of the main character and the good that he finds in well, everyone. Free maniac magee worksheets and literature unit for teachers. Maniac doesnt attend school because to him, school seems sort of like a big home, but only a day home.
Marcus willoughby maniac magee book report write about. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of maniac magee by jerry spinelli. Have students predict what the character with this name might be like. Jerry spinelli, the author of this newbery medal winner, is also the author of other childrens classics like wringer, stargirl, and milkweed. Maniac magee book summary maniac magee is about jeffrey lionel magees search for home and the racial prejudice in the town of two mills. After the miles and miles maniacs seenbetterdays sneakers chewed up, the book ends with him heading home to. The novel received critical acclaim upon release and in 1991 won the prestigious. Spinelli has written the novel in third person he said, as opposed to i said, which is called first person, using an objective viewpoint in which the thoughts and feelings of the characters are not. Jeffrey magee is twice homelessonce involuntarily, at age three, when his parents plunge with a highspeed trolley off a bridge. Its about prejudice and love and home and baseball and fear and understanding. This study guide consists of approximately 30 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of maniac magee. In maniac magee, jerry spinelli writes a young adult novel in which the main character. My book report is on the book maniac magee by jerry spinelli.
This lesson will give a summary of the popular book maniac magee, a novel written by jerry spinelli. Maniac magee is a heartwarming book first published 25 years ago. The helpful journal topics offer extended writing activities and discussion prompts. Free maniac magee study unit worksheets for teachers to print. Students come up with possible story ideas that could relate to the title, maniac. Maniac magee maniac magee maniac magee maniac magee maniac magee maniac magee maniac magee. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli is a novel that introduces the human rights violation of racism to children in elementary schools. I can see why jerry spinelli won the newberry award for his mondern classic, maniac magee. Maniac magee book summary maniac magee is about jeffrey lionel magee s search for home and the racial prejudice in the town of two mills.
This is a two page document that includes end of the story reading enrichment projects designed for the book maniac magee by jerry spinelli. Explain that the book they will read is titled maniac magee. The east and west end are separated by hector street. For those of you who havent already had the pleasure, let us introduce you to this wonderful book. Maniac magee is a novel written by american author jerry spinelli and published in 1990. This humorous yet poignant story tells of a superathletic teenager who bridges his small towns racial gap. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on maniac magee by jerry spinelli. Jeffery lionel magee maniac magee genre of the story. Maniac magee study guide contains a biography of jerry spinelli, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. Maniacs first stop is the east end, where he meets amanda beale and her suitcase of books. Buy a cheap copy of maniac magee book by jerry spinelli. Books similar to maniac magee meet your next favorite book.
When he was in the east end one day he met a girl named amanda. Jeffrey lionel maniac magee is an orphan searching for a loving home when he finds himself in a small, segregated town in pennsylvania. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. After the miles and miles maniac s seenbetterdays sneakers chewed up, the book ends with him heading home to the place hes been looking for this whole time. Each project requires a visual and written component. Maniac jeffery magee is one of the most refreshing and memorable characters in a.
650 62 1148 148 1318 978 845 456 73 665 561 1197 554 731 22 152 34 126 1367 100 37 730 1367 925 1197 540 896 618 718 1343 488 500 979 1093 920 994 138 281 1145 1273 537 386 11 436 1467 445 1330 1041 487 682 161