Maniac Magee Reviews

• Not everything is perfect

  
  By on 2002-05-19
  I picked Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli for my school book report because the cover looked interesting. It showed a picture of feet running. Inside the book jacket was a poem that read:
  "Ma-niac, Ma-niac
  He's so cool
  Ma-niac, Ma-niac
  Don't go to school
  Runs all night
  Runs all right
  Ma-niac, Ma-niac
  Kissed a bull."

  It looked very interesting and funny. I really liked the book because the main character, Maniac Magee, was funny and smart and cared about and helped people. You really want him to be happy.

  Maniac Magee (whose really name was Jeffrey) became a homeless kid who lost his parents in a trolley accident. He wants a real home with a family and that is what he looks for in the story. He's really unusual. He is famous for running everywhere. He's so fast no one can beat him. He's really good at sports. He even hit a "frog" ball and turned it into an inside the park homerun. He can untie very complicated knots. Little kids bring him all their troubles and he helps solve them. He wins a lifetime supply of pizza but he's allergic to pizza! Everyone loves him--well, almost everyone. That's what bothers him and keeps him running all night.
  Maniac doesn't see any bad in people. He keeps thinking they're nice. But some are so mean that he finally figures out they don't like him. He blames himself. Maniac meets a girl, Amanda. She has lots of books and he really wants one. She lets him have one to read. When he returns it she invites him to live with her family in the East End. Only black people live there. Maniac doesn't see any difference between the black and white people. When he sees there are some who don't understand each other he tries to get them to like each other. But this doesn't happen very easily.

  After Maniac runs away from Amanda's house, he lives with the buffalos at the park zoo. One day he meets Grayson who used to be a Minor league pitcher. Grayson and Maniac become really close like grandson and grandfather. They do everything together. You'll have to read what happens next. It's very emotional.
  Maniac spends time with the McNabb family in the West End. This is where the white people live. When he's there he tries to bring the East End and West End kids together. One time it doesn't work. Another time it does work.
  Maniac runs away from all of his temporary homes because he wants things to be perfect. He learns that not everything can be perfect. Does he find what he wants in the end? You'll have to read the book to find out.
  
  

• Maniac Magee Review

  
  By on 2003-02-06
  Maniac Magee was an outstanding book. It was one of the best books i have ever read. Maniac Magee's real name is Jeffery Lionel Magee. He is an 11 year old whose parents died on a trestle. So he had to go live with his aunt and uncle. He ran away from his aunt and uncles house because they were not getting along.
  On his journey running he ran to a place called The Two Mills and he met a couple of kids. The first kid was Amanda. Maniac told Amanda about his parents and Amanda Beale invited Maniac to live with them. Maniac was so happy that he had an address now. You are probably wondering where he was sleeping before the Beale's let him live with them. Well i am not going to tell you, you are going to have to see for yourself.
  The author that wrote this book is trying to teach us a lesson, to be friends with everyone no matter what color you are.
  This author is an amazing writer, in his books there is a lot of humor, and at the same time there is a lot of sadness.
  I would recommend this book to 10 year olds to 13 year olds because i am 11 and it really kept my attention.
  My opinion of this book is that it was a marvelous book. One of my favorite parts was when he tired to get that enormous knot out of the rope.
  
  

• Kid takes over city!

  
  By on 1999-06-15
  If you liked Wringer or Space Station Seventh Grade, you'll like to read Maniac Magee. The story about a boy named Jeffery Lionel Magee [later called Maniac] whose parents died when a trolley fell off its track and plunged into the Schulkill River. Everyone on board drowned. Then Jeffery was sent to his aunt and uncle's house. He ran away because his aunt and uncle bickered a lot and he got sick of it. Then he travels 200 miles to Two Mills, Pennsylvania. He moves in with the Beales. A black family willing to take care of Jeffery. After running so fast, hitting the world's first "frogball", scoring 49 touchdowns when playing football with some high schoolers, Jeffery Magee's name was changed to Maniac Magee. Then Maniac moved around from house to house because he and Amanda Beale got into a fight. Then Maniac moves around from house to house in the East End to West End [in this book, blacks and whites are isolated. Blacks in the East End. Whites in the West End] My favorite part was when Russell and Piper tried to run away from home to Mexico, and Maniac tells them to stay home an extra week every week. This is a really good book. It is so good that there should be a movie retelling the story. Like The Indian in the Cupboard. I hope you will like it.
  
  

• What a great book!

  
  By A27VJVE1SKAU8C on 2001-07-12
  In "Before the Story", an introduction to the novel, Jerry Spinelli writes, "What's true, what's myth? It's hard to know." Was Maniac Magee really a superhero in an urban legend of childhood--or was he just an extraordinary, though very human, young boy? Again, even to those who have read the story several times, it's hard to know. I doubt if Spinelli himelf knows the answer. During Part I, for example, Jeffrey/Maniac is a boy in Chapter I, a legend in Chapter II, a boy in Chapter III, a legend in Chapter IV . . . you get the idea.

  Even the rest of the characters have that half-unbelievable, half-real quality about them, though not as powerfully. For instance, few people have ever known an Amanda Beale who carries her entire library to school everyday; but it is easy to believe that _someone_ like Amanda does exist . . . somewhere out there. And most kids could interview all the old parkhands in their states and probably not find one who has struck out Willie Mays, or any other major league baseball player, for that matter. Yet it is still easy to believe that the novel's Grayson has a real-life counterpart. Beginning with Chapter One, when the first strange characters, Uncle Dan and Aunt Dot, are introduced, readers may suspend their disbelief and experience one of the most wonderful adventures in modern children's literature.

  I call it an adventure because, whether he or the readers know it or not, Jeffrey/Maniac is on a quest. He is looking for a place to call home, a place where he can be accepted and happy. Readers follow him from his first home in Bridgeport to his final home in a place-you-will-have-to-read-the-novel-to-know-about. This quest is not the only mythical element in this great novel: the hero also has several tasks to perform and dangers to brave before he achieves his dream. Along with all his "superpowers," he even has a "fatal flaw" to overcome: his naive nearsightedness when it comes to others.

  Some of the tasks are as simple as undoing an impossible knot. Others are as "dangerous" as trying to make peace between blacks and whites in a neighborhood. Something else mythical is Maniac's experience in the West End, which can be called a "Descent into the Underworld". Like a modern Odysseus, he makes many educational stops on the way to his own special Ithaca. (The three parts of the book mark these stops.)

  All of this is told in Jerry Spinelli's beautiful prose, which sometimes nearly becomes poetry. For example: "For most of November, winter toyed with Two Mills, whispered in its ear, tickled it under the chin. On Thanksgiving Thursday, winter kicked it in the stomach." At other times, the narrative seems to come straight out of a character's mind, with Spinelli taking on the voice of that character.

  To top it all off, "Maniac Magee" has an excellent moral. (There are many little lessons scattered throughout the plot, but I will focus on the main one.) Interestingly, the novel does not make any fixed judgements on running away. First it seems to say that running away is not the answer and that homes must be worked on, as much as found. Then it reminds us that Jeffrey/Maniac would not have found his home had he not run away to look for it in the first place.

  This story tugs at the heart and enriches the soul, but it also opens the mind.
  
  

• the kid who loves to run

  
  By on 2007-02-08
  
  LOOK OUT! Here comes the boy who loves to run: Maniac Magee his parents died in a car crash and now he lives with his aunt and uncle! One day when he went to his holiday concert with his aunt and uncle then they started making fun of him so he ran right out of that school and ran right down the street and kept running overnight until he reached a whole new town in the morning. When he walked around the next morning he came upon a girl he asked her name, it was Amanda Beale he started talking to her and asked her what was in her briefcase Amanda said it was full of books for school and he asked to see one do she gave him one and he asked to borrow it she said yes because she was late for school and Amanda Beale is never late for school. He stays at many more houses with some weird people to find out about those people read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.
  In this book maniac comes across a lot of challenges he comes to beat. I would give this book (.....)I loved this book and I guarantee you will to! If you want to check out this book go to your local library and check this book out!
  
  
  
• A HERO FOR OUR TIMES
  By A1AVMAH7FZGLR6 on 2000-05-15
  Jeffrey Lionel Magee is an orphan from Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, whose parents were killed when he was three, as the trolley they were riding on plunged off the trestle-bridge over the Schuylkill River, crashing into the muddy waters below. Taken in by his aunt and uncle, Jeffrey grows tired of the spiteful silence and animosity in their home and decides to run. He runs, and he runs, and he runs: straight from his miserable existence in Hollidaysburg into legendary status as the celebrated "Maniac" Magee. His rubber-soled shoes, tattered from his 200-mile run, Jeffrey decides to spend some time in Two Mills, Pennsylvania, where his innocent and idealistic views of life draw a town split asunder by racism into a real community. Jeffrey is a tall-tale figure who, without effort, rivals Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and John Henry at their best. MANIAC MAGEE is a wonderfully delicious and humorous story, and Jerry Spinelli's hero serves as an estimable role model for contemporary generations of adolescents and adults alike.
  
  
• This book is great!
  By A2L7LSTGFSFR90 on 1999-12-10
  I think the book Maniac Magee is a great book by Jerry Spinell. He really explained alot of things in detail. It is a very funny and exciting book! I really liked the wayManaic Magee wasn't scared of anyone and he could make friends with anyone. My favorite part was when Manaic hit the frog fling home run. I think that the way people were willing to help manaic out and be there for him shows the good side of our world. Amanda was a great charctor because she was helpful in everyway. I know that this book shows how people can help each other and how the blacks and whites can work together. I would recommend this book to any one that might have probles with different colored skin that can understand how to work there prprobles out. Or to just a young teen that is looking for a good book to read. I know I love this bookbecause I have read it more than once and I hope you will too.
  
  
• Maniac Magee review by Sarah Federico
  By on 1999-02-26
  Maniac Magee is an excellent book for any young adult to read. It is about a boy named Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee, and his parents died so he was left on his own. He made a friend with a girl named Amanda Beal and stayed with her and her family. It wasn't predictable, so everything was a surprise to me. Because the book is about a boy that's around our age (maybe a little younger), it is easy for any young adult to relate to Maniac's thoughts. This immaginative story that kids can relate to has won the author many well deserved rewards. Maniac Magee is a very immaginative story, that led me to not want to put it down for a second. The detail made ot seem like it could have happened to you or someone close to you, even though some pretty crazy things happened. I beleive the starred booklist would agree with me, it raves "bursts with creativity, enthusiasm, and hope for a future; in short its a celebration of life". By reading this book you will feel like you have known Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee all of your life. If there is one thing about this book it is that it wasn't predictable, it waqs just one surprise after the next. The New York times claims "has the tone of a story that has come down through the years". One reader from Huston Texas responding to a review for Amazon.com rated the book on a sclae from 1-5 stars a 5. The attentive reader replies "fascinating story, beautifully crafted". I am not the only one who thinks this way tons of people have published reiviews regarding good things about it on Amazon.com. This book has also won many awards. One of which was waon back in 1991, it was the newberry Medal, which is a great honor for an author to win. According to Amazon.com the average costomer review was 4 1/2 stars out of a possible five. Many of the reivews on Maniac Magee that was submitted had four and five stars. Thst means that many people thought it was a great book. Despite all of the good reviws and things like that about the book, there are still reasons why you might not think this is a good book to read as a young adult. One of the readers from J.C. New York gave the book only a 3 star reiview. So you can always look at it from their point of view. The New York times says this book is mainly for kids ages 8 - 14, so if you are looking for a book that is at a higher age level you might want to reconsider about which book you read. But I don't think like that because this book was recommended to me last year by a friend who had read it and liked it. There are a lot of race issues in this book, so that might be a little offencive to people, and also it just shows how some people can be just becuase they don't like someone else's skin color. This is an excellent book for young adults to becuase it is immaginative , surprsing, won many awards and is about someone my age. I guarantee that if you read this book that you won't be dissapointed.
  
  
• Excellent book for learning about courage
  By on 1999-01-26
  In Maniac Magee, author Jerry Spinelli gives us an unflinching first-person account of a homeless boy, Jeffrey, and how he learns to cope with prejudice and racism. Orphaned at age three when his parents die in a railroad crash, Jeffrey runs away from the unhappily married relatives he has been living with for eight difficult years.

  Jeffrey is a larger-than-life character whose amazing skills as a runner, a person who can untie any knot, and hit fastballs like few who have come before, are the stuff of local legend. But what students find most compelling is the way Jeffrey interacts with the assorted characters he meets in his travels and how, through summoning his own courage, Jeffrey is able to help resolve long-standing racial tensions between two towns.

  Teachers and curriculum directors in the Boston Public Schools have been so impressed by the powerful themes in Taking Sides that they have selected it as one of six core novels for sixth graders as part of the Max Warburg Courage Curriculum. The other five novels are: Taking Sides, Number the Stars, Bridge to Terabithia, So Far from the Bamboo Grove, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. As with Maniac Magee, each novel addresses the theme of courage--different types of courage, what it takes to act courageously, and how even small acts of courage can have enormous consequences in everyday life.

  I highly recommend Maniac Magee as a book that will offer adolescent readers new insights into prejudice and how, with perseverance, it can be overcome.
  
  

• Critical Reflection
  By on 2001-04-24
  Jerry Spinelli's, Maniac Magee, is the tale of a boy named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, who loses his parents at the age of three and is forced to live with his aunt and uncle. Jeffrey after eight years of living with his aunt and uncle gets fed up with how they are "separated," but still together and decides to runaway. He ends up two-hundred miles away in a little town called Two-Mills, where the whites and blacks are divided into the West End (whites), and the East End (blacks). Jeffrey embarks on the journey of a lifetime and learns many life lessons from all those that he encounters and becomes a town legend, earning the nickname, "maniac", in the process. Throughout the story Jeffrey does not have a stable place to live, he moves around through the whole story. With this idea in mind one is lead to believe that having a home and family is the center focus of this book, as you read in to the second chapter you realize that there is also another focus, racism. Not much is mentioned of Jeffrey's biological parents except when the author gives details of how they were killed, but you can tell that Jeffrey wanted a place to call home, and he did not know when he found a home and a family, how to deal with the fact that he was of a different color. Home, the one thing that Jeffrey so desperately wanted seemed to dwindle away every time he came close to keeping it. At eleven he could no longer bear living with his aunt and uncle who for eight years lived as a separated married couple. They had two of everything. So when he ran away he was in search of a new life, a whole new family. He ran away, two-hundred miles away to the town of Two-Mills, where he ended up with the Beale family. He felt love and a distinct feeling of home there, and he had a address now, which to him meant he had a permanent home. But something stood in the way of this loving home and new address, his color. He never really noticed that the entire town was divided into East End and West End, until he went out to play as any child would. This went on for months and months, until one day an old man told him to go back to his kind. So for the first time Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee realized that he was very different from the people in which he called his family were. This is explained thoroughly by Jean Baudrilland, from the Lion and the Unicorn (21.2 (1997) 215-229, she calls this personal discovery. This "personal discovery" she talks about is realized when Jeffrey recognizes that the people one the East End of Two-Mills hated him not because he was good at everything he did, but because of the fact that his skin color was different from the people that lived on that end. He loved the Beale family but could not see them terrorized because he was living with them, and once again he left becoming amongst the homeless again. His next "home" came when he met an elderly man by the name of Grayson, who lived in the baseball basement. They became real good friends and Jeffrey felt like he had a home again, when he put the numbers "1-0-1" on the basement door. Signifying that he again had a place to call home. That ended abruptly with the death of his longtime friend, so he was once again thrust back into society as homeless. But in the end he realized that he never should have left the first true home he had with the Beales, and so that is how the story ended with him being content that this was where he was supposed to be.
  
  
• He's a maniac, maniac on the floor. And he's dancing...
  By AMX0PJKV4PPNJ on 2004-04-22
  I sort of lump Jerry Spinelli and Kate DiCamillo into the same category. Though Spinelli has always been more prolific than DiCamillo (partly because he's been working longer), both authors create similar upbeat-but-acknowledge-the-world's-problems type children's books. And people love Spinelli and DiCamillo. Love them because they want to feel that these books really capture the unattainable good within the bad that is so very hard to write about. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of DiCamillo, and Spinelli's "Stargirl" left me kinda cold. So I picked up "Maniac Magee" with a kind of vain hope. Maybe this book would be better than I'd expected. Maybe it wouldn't drown the darker elements of life and society in the ooey-gooey syrup of a "Full House" episode. Maybe, in fact, this would be a great book. And you know what? It kind of is.

  This is a tall tale. The awesome story of Maniac Magee. He was the fastest, smartest, coolest kid you'd ever meet. He could untie any knot you handed him, and outrun anyone you could name. He was tough and funny and never went to school. He was a living legend in his day and was colorblind as they come. When Maniac Magee moves into the black side of town, his appearance there and subsequent actions trip off a series of events that lead, if not to greater understanding between townspeople, then to a lessening of prejudices.

  This is what I liked about "Maniac Magee". I liked that this book didn't end with Maniac ala Keesha Knight Pullman in "Polly" destroying the barriers between the white side and the black side of town single-handedly. I liked that he didn't destroy racism itself and that the ending of the book, rather than clearing up the town's problems, cleared up Maniac's problems. I liked that he had problems in the first place and that though he was an extraordinary human being, he made mistakes. I liked Mars Bar Thompson, a boy that is, in a way, a tall tale of his own and Maniac's worthy rival. I liked all these things, and more. I liked the story itself. It knew where to draw the line, how much to say, and how much to leave unsaid.

  This is what I didn't like about "Maniac Magee". I didn't like that the book never really explained why the blacks hated the whites so much. Once in a while a black character would get angry at Maniac's appearance on the wrong side of town and yell at him things like, "Never enough, is it, Whitey? Just want more and more. Won't even leave us our little water in the street". The man who says these things to Maniac has obviously suffered heartily at the hands of whites in the past, but Spinelli paints the character as more of a crazy aberration representing a minority opinion. He doesn't explain WHY the African Americans wouldn't want a white person amongst them, and kids reading this might just think the guy was mean or unbalanced. To read this book is to already understand the underpinnings of racism. Otherwise, you might get a little bent out of shape reading a story in which a white kid beats a black one so badly that the white kid is able to run backwards over the finish line, effectively humiliating his black opponent.

  There are things to love and dislike about "Maniac Magee". All in all, I found it fairly strong. The tall tale aspect of the storytelling, the rhythmic rise and fall of the action and words, and the book's telling conclusion all make it a rather good piece of writing. It's not as neatly tied up as much as it could be at the end, and that's just fine. Though I might not have handed it a Newbery award, it's well worth perusing and deserves to be on every child's reading list for a long long time.
  
  

• This book is fabulous.
  By on 2004-04-05
  I read Maniac Magee for the first time when I was ten years old. I was impressed then and and a decade later I am still impressed by this intelligent, poignant story. This book doesn't talk down to children and addresses some tough issues in a frank light. A must-have for any book-lovin' kid you know (or adult, for that matter).
  
  
• Maniac Magee
  By on 2003-02-07
  Jeffery Magee is an eleven year old boy, who has no real family. His parents died in a trolley crash when he was only three! He was then sent to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan, who were strict Catholic's. Although they wanted to get a divorce, they never did because it was against their religion. Finally, after eight years, Maniac was sick and tired of them fighting, and ran away. Maniac ran to Two Mills, a small city, split into two towns, the East End and the West End. The East End was the blacks and the the West End was the whites. In Two Mills Maniac has some awkward adventures!
  I thought Jerry Spinelli really made readers not want to put the book down. This book teaches people that there is no difference between blacks and whites, except the actual color. This book teaches me to be brave and to stand up for what is right. Jerry Spinelli connects clues throughout the the book, which really makes people want to read his books. If you are ten to thirteen years old and are looking for a fun, easy reading book, Maniac Magee is definitely perfect for you!
  
  
• Maniac Magee
  By A14C8F2ULRVUJC on 2008-07-28
  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.
  
  
• Maniac Magee... READ IT!!!
  By on 2007-05-11
  
  Jeffrey Magee is an orphan who is about 12 years old. He is funny, kind, and very daring. He lives in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, which has an east end for blacks and a west end for whites. Bridgeport is a very urban city with many people in it. The story takes place in the 1960's.
  
  The plot begins when Jeffery is introduced as the main character. The central problem in the book is that Jeffery is an orphan and he cannot find a home. Throughout the story, Jeffery meets many people. Some of these people take him in to live with their families. But in the end, he always finds himself without a home.
  
  The author, Jerry Spinelli, gives outstanding descriptions of his characters, which I think makes him a great writer. In this book, Jerry wants the reader to know how important it is to keep trying, even during times of great difficulty. If a person does not give up, something good will happen.
  
  
  
  
• Maniac Magee
  By on 2004-09-27
  We think that Maniac Magee is a fabulous book. It show's us not to judge people by their skin color. It is a very enjoyable novel that hooks the reader and makes them never want to put the book down. It is also by one of our favorite author's, Jerry Spinelli. We think that he is a good author because all of his books are not only good but everyone loves them. They are funny and serious and usually teaches a lesson. We love Maniac Magee!!!
  -Carly and Sam (...)
  
  
• Maniac
  By on 2003-05-06
  I think Jerry Spinelli created Maniac Magee because he wanted to make a legend. He probably wanted it to be a boy and wanted him to be a maniac so he thought maniac makes a connection with boy in my head not a girl. He also might have created it because he wanted to make a legend.

  I think he wanted his readers to know about differences and similarities between black and white people. Also I think he wanted his readers to know about stereotypes and how harmful they can be to a person or if it is big enough even a whole community. He also wanted his readers to know that you might be faced with choices and will have to know how to deal with them.

  The story made me realize how harmful some stereotypes can be about white and black people. This story made me feel that all black people and all white people either like each other or dislike each other. Also they might hate each other so much that they separate the town in to two parts the white side of town and the black side of town.

  In conclusion I think maniac Magee is a great book for kids. It teaches you a lot about stereotypes and about how white and black people get along in some cases. The book is one of my favorite books
  
  

• The Boy of Many Feats
  By on 2002-12-17
  Running short of books to read? You're looking for a good to read? Well look no further because Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli, is waiting for you. Jeffrey Lionel Magee, AKA Maniac, is just a twelve year old, scruffy, orphaned boy but as soon as he sets foot in Two Mills, Pennsylvania a legend is born. He's as fast as sound: bunting a frog for a homerun, scoring 49 touchdowns in one day, and beating a kid running backwards and the kid was running forwards. Unfortunutly, Two Mills is split into two ends, with Whites on the West End and Blacks on the East End but does Maniac know about the difference between skin colors? No he doesn't.
  There are many events that take place in the story to move along. First, Maniac's (then Jeffrey) parents die in a famous trolley crash. Then, he goes to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan who hate each other. After that he runs away at a chorus recital and isn't seen for a year. Next, he wanders into Two Mills and makes 4 appearances that day, also getting the nickname Maniac. Next, he starts to live at the Beales. Then he leaves the Beales and runs away to the zoo. Then, he is found by an old man,Grayson, who lets Maniac stay with him. After that, Grayson died. Maniac runs away to Valley Forge waiting for death. Then he meets Russell and Piper McNab, who invite him to their run-down house which will later be turned into a pillbox. After that, he provoaks Russell and Piper to stay in school by doing "heoric" feats. After that, Maniac doesn't stay in one set place and starts goes all over. Finally, Maniac stays with the Beales forever. Those are some important events in Maniac Magee.
  Many people have different opinions about Maniac Magee. I believe this is an excellant book, everything clearly stated. I would recommend it to kids who are in thier seventh month of fourth grade through their fifth grade. I liked everything about this book except one thing which is the way the McNabs' house is described with roaches and things like that. This book truly deserves its five stars.
  
  
• Maniac Magee
  By A2VBRONFCQ22WL on 2002-09-06
  Jeffery Lionel Magee, Maniac Magee, is a homeless boy who faces numerous challenges in life. Maniac is simply looking for a place to call home. During his adventures in Two Mills, he wins the admiration of many other kids. He unfortunately comes face to face with the issue of racism, but unlike so many others he sees it in a different light. Maniac always hold his head high and appreciates the little things in life. This book is funny and at times sad.

  Jerry Spinelli does a wonderful job painting a clear picture of Maniac's life. Thus making the novel very meaningful. He puts Maniac is a unique situation that is very believable. The figurative speech that is used makes reading interesting and understandable. For example, when Maniac is faced with racism he says, "For the life of him he couldn't figure out why the East Enders called themselves black . . . the colors he found were gingersnap and light fudge . . ." Jerry Spinelli's description gives the reader a apparent understanding of how Maniac saw the society he lived with. The descriptions of the atmospheres in the homes that Maniac visits can almost be felt as the dialogue takes place. This allows the reader to feel apart of the novel and understand the feelings of each character.

  I would personally recommend this book to anyone. It takes the reader through the funny, happy and sad moments of Maniac's life. It even has some eye opening experiences. There is an important lesson to be learned from this novel and Jerry Spinelli shows it in creative ways.
  
  

• maniac magee
  By on 2005-07-15
  Maniac Magee is a book about a white boy that who's nick name is maniac magee. He has a friend that is a black girl. He was able to do anything that other people can't do. And I didn't really liked this book because it's boring and it didn't made any sense to me because some strange things happened with no reasons.
  
  
• Mars Bar vs The Cobras vs Maniac
  By on 2001-01-24
  I enjoyed Maniac for reasons such as it had short chapters, it was fiction, not a long book, and he didn't wan't to beat Mars Bar in disgrace. Also I liked when the the East Side liked the West Side. For example it had about 3 pages per chapter, not a true book, Maniac never wanted to brag when he beat Mars Bar in disgrace when Maniac ran backwards to humiliate Mars Bar. And also the West side liked the East Side in which Maniac introduced Mars Bar to the good side before he saw the bad side.

  What I didn't like about the book was it was confusing, the gangs and that Grayson died. For example it was confusing because he was always running from one place to another. The gangs were violent and Maniac's one true friend died. That is what I liked and didn't like about the book.
  
  

• I Wasn't Such a "Maniac" Over This Book
  By on 2000-12-10
  Maniac Magee was a good book but out of the 160 pages or so about 20-25 was deatails. I think he did use creative words though. If he didn't spend so much time describing everything then I think a lot more people would have liked the book. Though a few parts of the book that I read I thought were cool but he has too much deatail. He could have made the plot better and the story longer and kept the same amount of detail and I would have loved the story. Though I would highly suggest the story to little kids, people who love detailed stories, or parents. If I had some more time to read this book then i might have liked it better (one sign this a book the schools read which makes it a good book). Well thats my opinion and some others may agree with it and some may not.
  
  
• Maniac Magee
  By on 2002-02-05
  Jeffery "Maniac" Magee's parents died he ran away from his aunt and uncle. Now he is homeless. Maniac Mmagee maves in with the Beales, a black family at a time when blacks and whites were segregated. Someone writes "fishbelly" on the Beale house so Maniac decides its time to leave. He then lives in the buffalo pen in the local zoo until he is discovered by a man named Grayson. Grayson gives Maniac food, shelter, and love. it doesn't work out with Grayson so Maniac finds a home with his enemy John McNab. It eventually works out for Jeffery "Maniac" Magee. This book would be best for older elementary to middle school students.
  Maniac Magee ia a non-fiction book. This book has happy, sad, and even touching parts to it. hester and Lester can really get your sides hurting while the bond between grayson and Maniac will touch your heart forever. Maniac was very popular in both the east (black community) and west (white community)ends. A popular jump rope chant with little girls is " Maniac Maniac he's so cool Maniac Manic don't go to school runs all night runs all right Maniac Maniac kissed a bull."You will follow Maniac through his brave rescues and daring adventures. Fourth through eighth graders would most aprecciate this book.
  This book will appeal to older kids because of the heroic adventures and simple tasks like untieing knots. This book does have some profanity.
  Jerry Spinelli is an effective writer. His book is filled with emotion. It is not a factual book.
  Most people who enjoy emotioal books with happy and sad parts will love Mania Magee.
  
  
• Tall Tales And Great Language
  By A1DM8V4DDNKRK7 on 2009-02-26
  I just finished reading this book again, fifteen years after I first read it. It is a fun, engaging, and thoughtful book that is filled with great language.
  
  Here are my two favorite sections, which give a good taste of the book's wonderful use of words:
  
  1: "They found out he could do more with a football than just catch it . . . He juked and jived and spun and danced and darted, and he left them squeezing handfuls of air. Pretty soon the vacant lot was littered with blown sneakers and broken hearts" (55).
  
  2: "His smile was so wide he'd have to break it into sections to fit it through a doorway" (102).
  
  I loved these sections, and there were numerous other sentences I liked almost as much! I also thoroughly enjoyed the book's "tall-tale" quality. In American folklore, there's the tall tale of Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack who combed his beard with a pine tree and who captured blizzards and used them to tame a river. In "Maniac Magee," there's the tall tale of Maniac, a super-fast runaway who can untangle any knot and who played baseball with a frog and scored a home run.
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed this book's tall tales, especially since they were told with such great style!
  
  Still, I wasn't as impressed by this book's central plot, which deals, in part, with the notion of racism. I found it a bit forced and far-fetched. If you've read the book already, did you notice that the more racist a person is, the worse he is dressed and the more pathetic his home life is? One very racist family doesn't clean up after its dog after it relieves itself on the floor. The same family encourages kids to drink beer and builds a fortress in its basement to defend itself against its racial enemies. --- All of this is a bit rough, crass, and hard to swallow.
  
  Still, the book is thoughtful, and I remember that the book made me consider race relationships differently when I first read it. And ultimately, the book's language and tall tales make up for any of its faults.
  
  
• Maniac Magee
  By A1IKUQVIXKX4YC on 2009-02-16
  Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
  
  0316809063
  
  As an orphan, Jeffrey Magee is sent to live with his aunt and uncle who live separately within their house and refuse to share anything. At the age of eleven, Jeffrey, unable to deal with his aunt and uncle's refusal to interact or communicate, runs away. A year later, he appears in a strictly racially segregated town, doing amazing feats and running like a mad man, earning him the nickname, Maniac. Quick to make both friends and enemies, Maniac searches for a home.
  
  This Newbery Winning story, without a clear setting in time, deals extensively with issues of race and segregation. Maniac, who is initially completely naïve of issues of race, seems almost too naïve. What is more, the fact that no character ever reports Magee's homelessness to the authorities may make this classic story difficult to accept for some adults.
  
  Also present in the book are issues of literacy. Despite his refusal to go to school, Maniac loves to read. He also takes on the role of teacher, helping an older man he befriends learn to read. In the past, the presence of this book in schools and libraries has been challenged in some communities for the fact that it could encourage children to run away or quite school.
  
  The beginning of the story, intrigued me most. Spinelli's narrator takes on the voice similar to that of a folklorist, examining the legend, the myth, the boy that is Maniac Magee.
  
  
  Activities to do with the book:
  
  This is a good book to discuss topics of race, segregation, school truancy, homelessness and loss. This is also a good way to introduce the idea of `whiteness.'
  To help students visualize the text, they could create maps of Two Mills, reinforcing the division between the sides of the town. Students could then create a second map, trying to unify the town.
  
  Other techniques used with the text include making Venn diagrams, comparing and contrasting characters that have parallel positions.
  
  Also, students could examine the characterization of Maniac as a transgressor.
  
  
  Favorite Quotes
  
  "The history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball. And if you want to know what it was like back when Maniac Magee roamed these parts, well, just run your hand under your movie seat and be very, very careful not to let the facts get mixed up with the truth" (p. 2).
  
  "If you listen to everybody who claims to have seen Jeffrey-Maniac Magee that first day, there must have been ten thousand people and a parade of fire trucks waiting for him at the town limits. Don't believe it. A couple of people truly remember, and here's what they saw: a scraggly little kid jogging toward them, the soles of both sneakers hanging by their hinges and flopping open like dog tongues each time the came up from the pavement" (p. 9).
  
  "For the life of him, he couldn't figure why these East Enders called themselves black. He kept looking and looking, and the colors he found were gingersnap and light fudge and dark fudge and acorn and butter rum and cinnamon and burnt orange. But never licorice, which, to him, was real black" (p. 51).
  
  
  For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com
  
  
• Maniac Magee great book!
  By A2SYTF6U978BEM on 2008-11-10
  Maniac Magee is a wonderful book for any child to read. I read this bbok for me Children's Literature class and I could barely put it down. I found the development of the characters to be wonderful. Without a doubt I loved Amanda Beale, she was my favorite character and was definitely a spitfire. I would recommend that this book be used in intermediate grades. It is age appropriate for fifth grade and up.
  
  
• Timeless mix of tall-tale and heart
  By AOTMP0OKJOUWI on 2008-09-29
  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.
  
  
• Maniacs are good friends
  By A2DFP33M345WBW on 2008-05-18
  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.
  
  
  
• A Fun, Quick -Read Book
  By A15LPOVXY4QHD9 on 2006-06-16
  "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.
  
  
  
• Entertain yourself
  By on 2006-02-15
  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.
  
  

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• Loser
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