Spinelli,+Jerry

=Jerry Spinelli (//Maniac Magee//)=

Book List
Who Ran My Underwear Up the Flagpole? //Space Station Seventh Grade// //Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?// //Jason and Marceline// //The Bathwater Gang// //The Bathwater Gang Gets Down to Business// //Fourth Grade Rats// //There is a Girl in My Hammerlock// //Report to the Principal's Office// //Tooter pepperday// //Do the Funny Pickle// //Crash// //Eggs// //Dump Days// //Blue Ribbon Blues// //Wringer// //Stargirl// //Loser// //Milkweed// //The Library Card//

Author information resources
Jerry Spinelli's [|webpage] another website for Spinelli [|Another website for Jerry Spinelli]

Individual Book Summaries
__//Eggs//__ //I// //read Eggs it was about a boy and girl who become friends. The boys mother dies and his life falls apart he has no friends and he has to live with his granma. He meets a girl who lost her father and also has no friends right there and then they were friends. They have many obstecals but they were great friends. Ian 2011// __//Crash//__ I read Crash and that was one of Jerry Spinelli's best books. It starts off with a boy named John but his nickname is Crash. He starts bullying a kid named Penn Webb becasue Penn is a little weird but after his grandfather has a stroke, after getting kicked by girls, after looking at Penns point of view, and after realizing that Penn is not so bad. John/Crash becomes Penn's best friend. I would recomened this to anyone it is a fast paste book, it is not to long, it starts off fast, and lastly it is just a flat out great book. Ian Spring 2011 __//Stargirl//__ I read Stargirl and I really enjoyed it. I really like adventure books and Stargirl was not an adventure. I really liked it though because it was surprising. Stargirl was always doing things I did not expect. It also has a life lesson.I really recomend this book even if you have a different author.-Britt Spring 2009

__//Loser//__ I also read Loser. I really did not like this book because it made me feel bad for the kid. If you like reality books you might want to try this book. It was repetitive too.-Britt Spring 2009

__//Eggs//__ My third book I read was Eggs. This was not a bad book. It was touching how the two kids who are opposits became such good friends. It was a really interesting book. If you like books about reality you would like Eggs. I noticed that a lot of Jerry Spinelli's books are about people who are a little different.-Britt Spring 2009

//__Stargirl__// One of the books I read was Stargirl, like Britt. I thought it was a touching story about a new girl, who is a little different than the rest of the school. You should read this book if you like stories that have an unexpected twist to them. - Lizzie Spring 09

//__Do the Funky Pickle__// I read a book called Do the Funky Pickle. This book is about a boy, Eddie, trying to get a girl, Sunny, to like him by doing the funky pickle (a dancemove). This dance move doesn't impress the girl he wants it to impress. I think this book is an interesting book and doesn't have the ending you would expect. -Nicole Spring 2009

//__Loser__// The other book that I read is called Loser. Loser is a book about a boy, Zinkoff, who never wins anything. I have to say it wasn't my favorite book because it started off really slow and in certain parts of the book I also felt really bad for Zinkoff. I think is a touching book about how you should just be yourself and it doesn't matter who you are. -Nicole Spring 2009

//__Stargirl__// // The book Stargirl is very unique. I really liked it. I liked how it wasn't a book that you could guess what would happen. I would definitely recommend it. It had a nice message. Although it was very good, I did not really like the ending, and at parts, I felt sad. Over all, this was a wonderful book.-McKinley Spring 2009 //

Eggs //I did not think the book Eggs was one of Jerry Spinelli's better books. This book was not bad, though. It was kind of touching and happy at parts. It was also kind of sad and not very exciting at other parts. If you like friendship books you would like it, though.-McKinley Spring 2009//

//__Loser__// The book Loser was good. It made me sad, though. It really shows that if you have a positive attitude, you will be happy no matter what.-McKinley Spring 2009

//__Crash__// Crash was a very good book and I would recommend it to almost anyone. This book made me feal sad for Penn Webb. Will Spring 2009

//__Crash__// Crash was the best Jerry Spinelli book. I would recomend it to anyone. Especially if you are from Philadelphia. I also recomend it to people who like sports.- Henry Spring 2009.

__//Crash//__ Crash was the best book I have read out of the Jerry Spinelli books. I thought that it was good because it showed how Crash transformed from a bully to a good friend. Mike was a bully with Crash until Crash realized that he didn't want to be a bully with Mike. Mike and Crash stopped being friends and he became best friends with Penn Webb, the boy who was getting picked on by Mike.- Frank Spring 2009

__//Loser//__ Loser was the worse of the three books that I had read. It made me feel very sad for Zinkoff because he was always being picked on. It was also sad that he did not even realize it. I would not really recomend this book to anyone. Unless you really like Jerry Spinelli and onlyread his books. This should be your last read exept for EGGS. - Henry Spring 2009

__//Wringer//__ Wringer was my favorite book that I read. I enjoyed this book the most because I liked the theme and the way that Jerry Spinelli described situations. I also liked how Spinelli really made you feel like you were in the book. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a nice book to sit down with and get into. -Jill Spring 2009

__//Loser//__ Loser was a geat book that kept me reading. As I read it I felt like everybody would never give Zinkoff a break except for his parents. He was constantly getting bullied by his old friends and just mean popular kids. My favorite part of the book is his mom giving him stars and his dad driving him around in his car. His father is a mailman and it is Zinkoffs dream to become a mailman with him. He once helped his dad deliver the letters. -Frank Spring 2009 Loser was an ok book. It showed how you how you sould be yourself. I think it would be a great book to end on.

__//Crash//__ Crash is a great book and I reccomend it to anybody who likes Jerry Spinelli and also people who like to read. It has a great plotline and is very interesting. Anybody would definantly like this book.-Ryan Spring 2008

__Crash__ Crash is a great and I recommend it to anyone who likes great books. It makes you have a feeling that is a I can't stop reading this book feeling. I loved this book and I now that anyone who reads it will. Trevor spring 2009.

//__Smiles to go__// Smiles to go is a great book because it really grabs the reader and makes you want to keeep on reading and i really recomend it for people who like realistic fiction. I think that //__Smiles to go__// is nothing like nothing at all like //__Maniac Magee__// I really loved this book and I think that a lot of other people would to. Bradley 2010.

//__Eggs__// Most of Jerry Spinelli's books' titles tell a lot about the stories, but the story __Eggs__ isn't one of those. It's a story that could happen anywhere, as many of the Jerry Spinelli books are. It's realistic and funny at points, sad and heart touching at others. A very interesting part in __Eggs__ is how the two main characters meet. If you enjoy realistic non-fiction stories, this is definetely one to check out. Chloe 2010

__//Stargirl//__ __Stargirl__ is a great story about a new girl in the Mica High School who is nothing like the ordinary. She was basically fitting in like a "country bumpkin" in the city. Too strange, too different, too un-regular, yet Leo Borlock falls in love with the intruder in his life. It's a tale about some fast acting, picking between Stargirl Caraway, the "country bumpkin", or his high school friends. Chloe 2010

__Stargirl__ __Stargirl__ is about an unusal girl named Susan who goes to Mica High School. She names her self Stargirl and carries around her pet rat named cinnamon and her ukulele.She gives out candy and presents on holidays to her school "friends" and sings happy birthday to everyone. She is a girl who is so different from everyone but in a good way and she influnences them all. Little does she know that being different may cost you friends.........except Leo. -Hannah 2011

__Jason and Marceline__ is about two ninth-graders that are described in the most realistic of ways. Jason is the average-type boy, while Marceline is outrageously different than all the other girls. Jason may want Marceline to be ordinary, but she stays herself through-and-through. If you like very relistic books, than this is the book for you. -Livie 2011

__Who Ran My Underwear Up the Flagpole?__ This book is about a boy named Eddie who is in 6th grade. Ever since the first day of school no one has really liked him. He tries out for the football team to try to fit in. Eddie is kind of what you can call a little kid. All of his friends have started to grow up but he is really not. This book is a short and easy read -Will 2011 __Jason and Marceline__ __Jason and Marceline__ is about two ninth graders, a boy and a girl. Jason is a fairly average boy while Marceline is the complete opposite. She is weird and crazy and does not care what anyone thinks of her. Both of them have been friends for a very long time but now they are thinking if they could become more than friends. -Hannah 2011

__Space Station Seventh Grade__ Space Station Seventh Grade is about a kid that is trying to get through seventh grade while building a miniature space station in wood shop. In the end Jason, the main character, meets Marceline, a girl in his school that is weird and no one likes her. They meet when Jason is biking around the country. But Jason ends up being friends with her. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is really good and a fun read -Carter 2011

//__Stargirl__// //__Stargirl__// is about a girl named Stargirl, (at least that's what she calls herself) who comes out of seemingly nowhere. Rumors spread about this mysterious girl, and Leo (the main charater) becomes more and more intregued with the new kid. One moment Stargirl is the most popular kid in school and the next she is "shunned' from all attention. While Stargirl doesn't seem to notice, Leo is having trouble finding answers to his problems between choosing Stargirl or his friends.

//__Loser__// I thought that loser was good and very intense. Loser is about a boy who doesn't really know how to fit in. He thinks he's fast, cool, and smart, but he doesn't know that he not. My favorite part was when he was looking for Claudia in the snow. I noticed that Jerry Spenelli focuses on one character that doesn't no how to fit in. This book reminds me on Maniac Magee becasue the boys do the same things. This is a good book if you like detailed writing. Bela - Spring 2011

__The Library Card__ The Library Card is about people who don't feel like doing something or they can't and they find a special blue card that lets them check out a book forever. I really like this book because I feel like when I get bored I should just go and grab a book. It is a short but very fun read. Carter 2011

__Eggs__ “Eggs” by Jerry Spinelli is about two kids who have the same problem but do not know it till they meet. One of the kids is David who is 9 and his mother died when he was younger and it has held it back in life ever since. The other kid is Primrose who is 12 her dad ran away when she was a baby and she does not know who he is. The two kids go on amazing journeys together. They have high roads and low roads but always end up getting along. They learn a lot from each other and benefit from it too. These two kids have a special bond that will not be broken. By Emma 2012

__Who Put The Hair In My ToothBrush__ “Who put the hair in my toothbrush” by Jerry Spinelli is about a brother and a sister. The brother is Greg and he is in 9th grade and he is not so fond of his sister. His sister Megan is in 7th grade and she also does not like her brother. They both have two things in common they both love ice hockey and they both are not fond of each other. They are both having problems in life Greg he is having the girl chapter and Megan is growing up. This book has very good examples of what life can be like and it also has some fun tidbits in it too. By Emma 2012

__Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?__ Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush by Jerry Spinelli is a realistic fiction novel about your average sibling hatred contest. The siblings in this book are Greg and Megin (Yes, MegI n, not MegAn). They continuously bicker, play pranks, and tease one another (even though every time they do this, they get grounded worse and for longer). The first chapter is a first person narrative as Greg, the second chapter as Megin, etc., so that you get to see parts of each sibling's outside life. You got to experience both people's feelings, which I really liked. I thought this book was pretty good; not amazing, but not bad. Ruby - April, 2012

__Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?__ "Who put that hair on my toothbrush" by Jerry Spinelli is about a brother and a sister that just don't get along. They fight over ice hockey and at school Greg and Megan just can not seem to get along with each other. Megan calls Greg "grosso" and Greg calls Megan "megamouth". They are always making fun of each other and finding ways to get on each other nerves. It had to take a big accident for them to figure out how much they actually care for each other. By, Matthew spring 2012

__Eggs__ "Eggs" by Jerry Spinelli, starts out with a boy finding a girl in the woods and he thinks that she is dead. She is not dead but she turns out to be a very important person in his life. The boy David is only 9 years old and has moved in with his grandmother after his mother dies from an accident at work. He has decided to hate his grandmother because he is upset that his mother is dead so he will hate the closest person to him. Everything changed overnight in his life. Primrose is 12 years old and does not get along with her wacky fortune telling mother. David and Primrose are not close friends at first but then they form a very close friendship and find a way to get through life together. They both end up learning a lot from each other. The story is really about how two people bond together at a tough time in their lives. By, Matthew spring 2012

//__Loser__// Loser is a great and touching book. It goes deep into the meaning of fitting in. Jerry Spinelli shows this when he shows you the life of Donald Zinkoff. He has differences physically and mentally from other kids. In the sense that he throws up a lot and he laughs a lot. This is one of the things that make him different. The other thing is that he doesn't notice the big picture. Such as he was the only one to get an A in class and all the kids where calling him names and cheering for him. What he didn't realize is that they where doing this because it was amusing and they liked watching Zinkoff's reaction. The other funny thing is that he doesn't notice himself being a loner, or being able to fit in. I really liked this book and felt it was very deep and meaningful. By, Aantorik spring 2012

//__Eggs__//

Eggs was a good book but not the same as all he other books. It is when there is a teenage girl named Primrose meets a 9 year old boy David who have similar problems. Both of them have family issues. Primrose doesn't see her dad and her mom is a crack pot. David only sees his dad on the weekends, and lives with his grandmother. He doesn't like his grandmother because she takes the spot of David's mom is is dead. Both kids don't have any friends but they also feel that they don't need them. When they meet each other they form a small bond. However they fight and break up a lot. At the end they walk to philadelphia and become "real friends" By, Aantorik spring 2012

//__Crash__// Crash by Jerry Spinelli is great book about a boy that has been called Crash every since he got his first football helmet for Christmas and “crashed” into his older cousin even though his real name is John Coogan. On day a boy named Penn Webb moves down the street from Crash and Crash thinks he is weird. Crash decided to start bullying, picking on, and playing pranks on Penn because Crash thought it was funny. On day Crash’s role model, idol, grandfather falls out of a tree trying to do something for Crash’s sister and gets a stroke. Once Crash sees the world through Penn’s eyes he stops being mean to him because for once he learns that it is wrong. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast and action filled book. By, Aly 2012

//__Stargirl__// Stargirl is a very interesting book about being different. In this story Stargirl Caraway comes to a school in Arizona called Mica High, where a boy named Leo Borlock goes to school. Stargirl is different and not afraid to be. She loves to play her ukulele and she sings happy birthday to everyone when it is their birthday. When Leo and Stargirl start dating the whole world changes for Leo. He learns to see what it is like from someone who people don't like or gets ignored's point of view. He learns to take in even the smallest things that you would normally not even notice. This is a very good story that I would recommend if you like seeing things through different eyes. By, Aly 2012

__//Loser//__

Loser is about a boy called Zinkoff. He is a little different from other kids. (he sometimes throws up randomly, he thinks a little differently) Once he got an A for the first time and all the other kids made up a nickname for him and pretended to pay him attention. He didn't actually realize they were doing it for their own amusement. One night he heard that someone he knew had disappeared. He went out all night looking for her only to find out she was found right after he had learned about it. I really enjoyed this book, I suggest reading it. By, Jacob spring 2012

//__Milkweed__//

Milkweed is not one of Jerry Spinelli's more cheerful stories, but it gives you a lot to think about and it's very well written. It's in the time of the Nazis. The story is about the life of a nameless little Gypsy orphan, who, at first, wants to be a "Jackboot" (Nazi), not realizing all the terrible things they are doing to Jews. He likes the look of the tall, powerful men, doing courageous things and such. He has many adventures with a boy named Uri, who is a Jew, and, later in the book, he adopts himself into a Jewish family; it is then when his burning desire to be a Jackboot is extinguished. From then on, he calls himself a Jew, and shares the bad experiences with his new family. The story ends with him as an old man, finally at peace. I'm a Jew, and I didn't really know that much about the Nazis, and I think that this book is a good way to get introduced to it. I don't usually like sad books (I'm usually a fantasy-funny-mostly-happy-book girl), but this book, I really enjoyed. Ruby - Spring 2012