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Maniac Magee
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Maniac Magee (1990) (edit title/settings)

by Jerry Spinelli (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a trolley accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run-and not just run away, but run.

Grades 4-8

Strategy: For this story I would use... read more

Summary edit see section history

Jeffrey Lionel Magee had a difficult life. When he was three-years-old the P & W trolley crashed into the river killing both of his mom and dad. When this happened he moved in with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan who should be divorced but are strict catholic and will not break up,even though... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Jeffrey Lionel Magee had a difficult life. When he was three-years-old the P & W trolley crashed into the river killing both of his mom and dad. When this happened he moved in with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan who should be divorced but are strict catholic and will not break up,even though they never talk to each other or share. When Jeffrey was 11 he ran away, and found himself in Two Mills, PA.
That day in Two Mills at the East End he ran into a girl named Amanda Beale who was lugging around books in a wagon and Jeffrey asked to borrow one and she let him. That after noon Jeffrey caught an interception from football star James " Hands " Down. He also saved an unlucky kid from the Finsterwald's backyard and hit home runs off the best little league baseball player John McNabb. These stunts made him the nickname maniac. Maniac runs in to a bully named Mars Bars who rips a page out of Amanda's book. She shows up letting Maniac stay with her at her house her. There he meets Hester and Lester, Amanada's younger brother and sister. Some East Enders are mad at Maniac and want him to leave by putting graffit on the Beale's garage door. Then Maniac conquired the Cobbles knot, which is a knot that if you untie it you will get a years supply of pizza. When he finished everyone threws confetti then Amanada realized it was shreds of her books that Hester and Lester got to, then Maniac ran away because he did not what to cause the Beales trouble with the garage door and Amanada's books.
Maniac slept at the zoo with the buffalos. Where he meets an old man named Grayson and they become instant friends. Grayson was a minor league baseball player and Maniac made a bet that if he thought Grayson to read he had to teacch Maniac baseball. The two of them had Christmas together and Maniac got Grayson's baseball glove. Later, Grayson died in his sleep. Maniac starts to run again.
Maniac runs into two little boys running away to Mexico. The boys, Piper and Russell happen to be John McNabb's brothers and Maniac bribes them with pizza from Cobbles Corner for them to go back home and go to school. After that Maniac started to live with the McNabbs who live in the West End. Then Maniac realized the McNabbs were making bunkers because they thought the East End was going to have a rebellion. Later, Piper and Russell start to misbehave and the hope to keep them in school is lost. Maniac shows up in the East End and races Mars Bars Thompson and beats him backwards. By this time Maniac moved out of the McNabbs and every morning he ran for miles and Mars Bars started to join him, but they never spoke a word to each other. One day when they were running they ran into Piper who led them to Russell stuck on the P & W trestle where Maniacs parents died, so Maniac walked away. Mars Bars went up there and saved the day. Later at night Mars Bars came to the zoo with Amanada into the buffalo pen and they offered to let him live at their house and Maniac excepted Amanda's invite but not Mars Bars. Finally, Maniac had a home again.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Jeffrey Lionel Magee (Maniac Magee): Known widely as Maniac Magee, for his strange ways. He is an orphan, and ran away from his constantly bickering aunt and uncle at age nine. But instead of running away, he just plain out ran. He ran until he came to Two Mills, a town with two different sides of town, East End, and West End. The West End, for the whites is appalled by the East End, where the blacks live. Maniac appears to be brave, and extremely talented in many things, such as baseball, running, and football. He is also very friendly, making friends with some of the most unlikely characters in the book, like Amanda Beale and Grayson.
  • Grayson: An old white man who failed at his dream of becoming a professional baseball player in the MLB. He helps Maniac along his journey. He works at the zoo, and despite his old age, is never to frail to work, and has Maniac help him, just in case. He loves baseball, and loves to play with Maniac. He is very poor, and lives in a storage unit at the zoo, with Maniac, who tries to help him spice up his life and live it to the fullest.
  • Amanda Beale: A girl that gives Maniac a home when he has nowhere else to go. She realizes that Maniac is weirder than she thought. She loved books, and is very protective of them, bringing them every where she goes, and crying when one is ruined or torn. She lives in the East End, and is surprised by Maniac's boldness, and the fact that he doesn't mind what color her skin is. She worries about him a lot, especially when he's on the run and has no home, and she tells him that there will always be a home for him at 12 Sycamore Street, which is where she lives with her family.
  • John McNab: A white baseball player that is unbeatable until Maniac arrives. He is 12 years old but really huge. He is supposedly the best in the Little League. He seems to be very vain, believing that no one can beat him, and laughing at opponents up to bat. He hates to be beaten, even though it's only happened once, when Maniac came to town.
  • Russell: The little brother of John McNab. He has a twin brother, Piper, and gets into trouble.
  • Lester: Amanda Beale's younger brother. Loves to take baths with Maniac. His twin is Hester, and they loved getting into mischief with each other.
  • Hester: Amanda Beale's younger sister. Loves to take baths with Maniac. Her twin is Lester, and they love getting into mischief together.
  • Piper: The little brother of John McNab. He has a twin brother, Russell, and they both get into trouble.
  • Arnold Jones: A nerdy kid that was thrown into Finsterwald's backyard by highschoolers. Is rescued from the backyard by Maniac.
  • Finsterwald: The average old scary neighbor with the forbidden backyard. If you get thrown into his backyard you get the finsterwallies, a severe shaking of the body especially in the arms and legs.
  • Mrs. Pickwell: Maniac often stops to her place for dinner without being noticed, because they have so many children.
  • Mars Bars Thompson: Treats Maniac like dirt, horribly and meanly (If that's even a word). He lives on East End. The only reason he does it is because he's jealous. Called Mars Bars because of the candy bar always in his hand. Since he lives in the East End of town, he is appalled when a white boy(Maniac) comes to the East End, and even more so when he takes a bite out of Mars Bar's Mars Bar.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “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”
  • “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”
  • “He juked and jived and spun and danced and darted, and he left them squeezing handfuls of air”
  • “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”
  • “The history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Sycamore Street: A street in the East End of Two Mills. Amanda Beales lives on this road with her family and eventually, Maniac.
  • East End: The East side of Two Mills. This is where the colored people are forced to live, and the East End is scorned, ridiculed, and disgusted by the West End of town.
  • West End: The West Side of Two Mills, where the white people live. They often make fun of the East End, and segregate everything in their town.
  • Pennsylvania towns of Hollidaysbury: Borrder

First Sentence edit see section history

Maniac Magee was not born in a dump.

Glossary edit see section history

  • Finsterwallies: Violent trembling of the body, especially in the extremities (arms and legs). This condition is usually brought on by being in close proximity to 803 Oriole Street, the home of the mysterious and feared Finsterwald.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 664 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)

Preceded by La casa pintada/The painted house (El Barco De Vapor), and followed by Shiloh.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Jerry Spinelli (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Little Brown & Co
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1990
ISBN: 0316807222
Page Count: 184

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • Maniac Magee Literature Guide by Secondary Solutions: Common Core and NCTE/IRA Standards-Aligned teaching materials for Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Complete Literature Guide as well as individual lesson plans, resources, activities, handouts, worksheets, quizzes, tests, study guide questions and more for teaching Maniac Magee in grades 6-8.
  • Wise Guys Teaching Resources: This is a purchasable 48 page reading guide that can be used to accompany the book in a classroom setting.
  • Secondary Solutions blog: FREE! Test to assess students' reading of Maniac Magee.

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