![]() ![]() ![]() Full of snappy street-talk cadences, this off-the-wall yarn will give readers of all colors plenty of food for thought. After a showdown with his nemesis, Mars Bar, Maniac bridges the gap between the two sides of town and finally finds a home. He knew that finally, truly, at long last, someone was calling him home. Park groundskeeper Grayson next cares for the boy, but the old man dies and Maniac moves into the squalid home of the McNabs, who are convinced a race war is imminent. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Eileen. In racially divided Two Mills, the Beales, a black family, take Maniac in, but despite his local fame, community pressure forces him out and he returns to living at the zoo. 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. He finds his way to Two Mills, Pa., where the legend of ''Maniac'' Magee begins after he scores major upsets against Brian Denehy, the star high school football player, and Little League tough guy, John McNab. ![]() Orphaned as an infant, Jeffrey Magee is reared by his feuding aunt and uncle until he runs away at age eight. Another Newbery winner touching on issues of racism and homelessness is Louis Sachar’s 1998 novel Holes. In this modern-day tall tale, Spinelli (Dump Days Jason and Marceline) presents a humorous yet poignant look at the issue of race relations, a rare topic for a work aimed at middle readers. Spinelli’s novel Stargirl (2000) is very similar to Maniac Magee in that it features a quirky protagonist of uncertain origin who does acts of kindness for others, leading to ostracism by her community. ![]()
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