Jeffrey's parents die and he is orphaned. He runs aways and tries to survive on his own. This book explores racism and other issues along the way.

This book is about a boy named Jeffrey and his parents died in an accident when he was a young boy. He lived with family that was abusive. He ran away from his family and ends up in a different part of Pennsylvania. Read this book to find out Jeffrey's journeys in his new city. Jeffrey meets many new people and he even finds a new family to live with. ( )

cool book ( )

its a very good book its a funny story and a unhappy story ( )

Funny, short, sappy - a really good read. ( )

Maniac Magee is a very funny, sometimes touching, story of Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, a young man who is a legend in his youth. He performs phenomenal athletic feats, yet he shows wisdom and insight far greater than are normal for his age. The book is a combination of realistic fiction, humor, folklore, and even a little legend ( )

Ages 8 and Up - Maniac Magee was the 1991 Newbery Award Winner. In a tall tale style, this short novel tells the story of Jeffery "Maniac" Magee, an orphan and runaway, whose interesting feats and quest for a home make him a legend to children in one town. In a large sense Maniac Magee is a didactic story about post-civil rights movement racial segregation, but it also has strong themes of family and home. While the tall tale style naturally lends itself to generalizations and stereotypes, I was a bit concerned about a few of them that came across in this story that is, I think, purposefully trying to combat them. I noticed, for example, that all the racist people in the story are poor males, that all the women are kind and nurturing, and that the sweet, welcoming people on both sides of the tracks are large nuclear families, and that the ignorant people are, on top of being poor and male, from broken homes. These characteristics might be a sign of them time the book was written or an effect of the writing style.
On top of being an award-winner, this book is still popular with children, particularly boys. Recommended for all juvenile fiction collections. ( )

Jerry Lionel “Maniac” Magee might’ve had an average childhood, but nothing else about his life would be normal again after he runs away from home at age eleven and ends up in Two Mills, Pennsylvania at twelve. Residents of Two Mills don’t know what to make of the new boy. He’s impossibly athletic. Loves to learn even though he doesn’t go to school. And, above all, he doesn’t seem to notice the way the town is divided in two, with whites living on one side of town, and blacks on another. As far as Maniac is concerned, he can talk to, befriend, and live with anyone he chooses to.

This is the story of the unassuming boy who singlehandedly changed the way a town felt about racial divide.

MANIAC MAGEE is one of those unassuming, yet quietly powerful novels, despite its Newbery Award win and near canonization in modern children’s literature. It’s a seriously ageless novel, in that readers can always get something new out of it, no matter what age you are. When I read this book for the first time in elementary school, I enjoyed the realistic banter between the children, between the blacks and the whites. Now, as I reread it for my children’s literature class, I am in awe of the way that Spinelli effortlessly weaves a moral tale into something entertaining and unique. His language is brilliance, stars and moon itself, and his characters are memorable and relatable. Even though I’m still not a fan of Maniac, with his improbable feats and passivity, this book is a must-read if you’re looking for the best of the best in children’s lit. ( )

School Library Journal 6/1/1990
Gr 6-10-- Warning: this interesting book is a mythical story about racism. It should not be read as reality. Legend springs up about Jeffrey ``Maniac'' Magee, a white boy who runs faster and hits balls farther than anyone, who lives on his own with amazing grace, and is innocent as to racial affairs. After running away from a loveless home, he encounters several families, in and around Two Mills, a town sharply divided into the black East End and the white West End. Black, feisty Amanda Beale and her family lovingly open their home to Maniac, and tough, smart-talking ``Mars Bar'' Thompson and other characters are all, to varying degrees, full of prejudices and unaware of their own racism. Racial epithets are sprinkled throught the book; Mars Bar calls Maniac ``fishbelly,'' and blacks are described by a white character as being ``today's Indians.'' In the final, disjointed section of the book, Maniac confronts the hatred that perpetuates ignorance by bringing Mars Bar to meet the Pickwells--``the best the West End had to offer.'' In the feel-good ending, Mars and Maniac resolve their differences; Maniac gets a home and there is hope for at least improved racial relations. Unreal? Yes. It's a cop-out for Spinelli to have framed this story as a legend--it frees him from having to make it real, or even possible. Nevertheless, the book will stimulate thinking about racism, and it might help educate those readers who, like so many students, have no first-hand knowledge of people of other races. Pathos and compassion inform a short, relatively easy-to-read story with broad appeal, which suggests that to solve problems of racism, people must first know each other as individuals. --Joel Shoemaker, Tilford Middle School, Vinton, IA

Publisher's Weekly 5/11/1990

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. Orphaned as an infant, Jerry Magee is reared by his feuding aunt and uncle until he runs away at age eight. 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. 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. 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. After a showdown with his nemesis, Mars Bar, Maniac bridges the gap between the two sides of town and finally finds a home. Full of snappy street-talk cadences, this off-the-wall yarn will give readers of all colors plenty of food for thought. Ages 8-12. (Apr.) ( )

Maniac Magee is about a boy whose parents died in a car crash, so he went to live with his aunt and uncle and he ends up running away because they fight all the time. Magee runs all the way to a town called Two Mills, where he meets a girl and she ends up being his friend. Magee ends up living at a zoo in a cage, and he plays baseball and hits alot of homeruns so he get picked on by some bullies at school.

I liked like book as well. It was kind of sad because Magee had a tough life and it seemed like everyone picked on him. Im glad he did have one friend though. I think alot of students would enjoy this book.

I would have the children read this and write a paper as to why we dont bully, and then we would go and play a game of baseball on a pretty day.

I loved this book. This is about a 12 year-old orphan who has runaway from his cold, and unloving aunt and uncle. In his quest for aplace to call home, Jeffrey learns that it's not the color of a person's skin that matters; it's what's inside a person's heart that means the most and he tries to teach that to all he meets.

This novel is a good example of realistic fiction because the events that take place in this book could happen, such as having your parents die and having to live with your fighting aunt and uncle, and running away because of it; but the events in this book did not really happen. ( )

Awesome book about a runaway ragamuffin kid who struggles with love, the difference between black skin and white-why can't they mix?-, and, most of all, the significance of home. I recommend this book for fourth to sixth graders. ( )

This is the story of a young, homeless white boy who comes into a town that is extremely segregated. This boy was named Jeremy "Maniac" Magee because he was extremely athletic and the kids thought he was different. He meet a young girl named Amanda, while she was reading a book on the road to school. She was an African American, and her family found out he was homeless. They took him in and he stayed with them until the neighborhood was mad and wanted him to leave because of his color. This book goes through him discovering what is truly important about people and people discovering that through him.

This is a fantastic book. It is very visual and the dialogue is great. It is perfect to read out loud to a class. There are many funny parts along with many serious parts that catches the attention of the students. Also, the authors use of imagery is fantastic and it is almost like watching a movie. The metaphors are easy for the students to understand as well. I am reading this book out loud to a 5th grade class now.

I would definately use this book to introduce segregation to the class and the Civil Rights Movement to the students. It is an easy book for kids to get into and relate to the main character. It would also be a good book for kids to do a project over segregation. ( )

A wonderful, heart-warming adventure. I haven't read this book in years but when it showed up in my "recommendations" page it brought back a flood of snapshots of scenes. The big ball of yarn is my favorite part. ( )

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 is a story of an orphan boy who wanders homeless throughout a city divided on racial lines. He is a gifted athlete who advanced skills make him famous in the town. He also has other superhuman skills that add to his fame. He eventually tries to bring an end to the racial division within the town by bringing the black people together with the white people. He is successful with some of the more moderate thinkers, but the hardliners remain strong in their racial beliefs.

I liked the book pretty well throughout. The colorful action was intriguing and it kept me reading on. I could see where the author was going with the racial issue but I was a bit disappointed by the ending. It appeared that with all of Maniac Magee’s superhuman skills he would be able to do away with the racist ideas that permeated his little town. I guess the theme of the story is that despite all that Maniac was able to accomplish, all the magical feats and stunts, racism would prove to be too complicated of a knot to untie.

I think this story would prove to be a good social studies lesson on segregation. I would break the kids into groups such as brown eyed vs blue eyed or blonde hair vs brown hair and make rules that the two groups could not interact with one another. This would help them to understand the oppressive nature of segregation and racism. Another extension I would come up with would be based on Maniac frequent trips to the library and his uncanny ability to learn on his own. I would have each student go to the library and check out a book that they would read and share the book with the class either through a written response, a piece of art work, a poem or other means approved by the teacher. ( )

A hyperactive boy with incredible talents teaches a town about racism and learns about family, friends, and himself. Great book for middle grade boys. ( )

Maniac Magee is a boy on the run after his parents die. He meets a girl ,Amanda, who gives him a book, his prized possession. Meanwhile he encounters a boy,MarsBar, from the town who is very mean to him. Maniac moves in with a grounds keeper. Their relationship develops as Maniac teaches the man to read and he gives him baseball tip, as he is a former baseball player. He then is on the run again after the old man dies. He ends up helping the mean boy, MarsBars and his friends. In the end, he finds a permanent home with the girl's family who originally gave him a book.

The strength of this book is its message. Kids really learn that people can persevere and triumph even when life is hard. ( )

Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee is at a loss after his parents are killed in a train accident. He is a mysterious kid who runs into a town divided into West End and East End by race. Homeless and longing for family, Maniac puzzles those around him by being colorblind in his quest to find a place where he belongs. He finds home temporarily with a family until he finds his presence might cause them harm, finds a father-figure in Grayson, and finally comes full circle into acceptance. Maniac is an amazing kid and has the desire to try to help people and bring people together over the divides which separate them. ( )

This is the tale of a runaway... Hey! What the heck is Sonlight trying to teach my kids here? This is the third runaway protagonist in a row. I should probably write them a letter or something. Anyway, the fact that "Maniac" Magee is a runaway is a secondary part of the character. "Maniac" is a classic... well, I don't what the label is. He's not quite the archetypical trickster, because he's not out to fool anybody. He's that type of magical personality--the person who can do amazing things, yet isn't self conscious about it. He's the innocent who steps into a setting and immediately and honestly brings the status quo into question by some child-like comment or by unknowingly breaking some social taboo. In this tale, the society that gets shaken up is Two Mills, Pennsylvania. The era of the story is unclear, but when "Maniac" arrives in Two Mills, the town is nice and orderly. The black folks live on the East End, the white folks live on the West End and everyone tries to keep to their own side of town. "Maniac", of course, goes where he pleases and makes friends and enemies on both sides of town in his quest for... well, why don't you just read the book to find that out. It's an enjoyable and somewhat quirky tale, well worth checking out.
--J. ( )

In this award winning book “Manic Magee” a boy’s parents are killed in an accident, so he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. The aunt and uncle live together in an unhappy silence. Their marriage is over but refuses to divorce. Magee can’t live with this so he sets on an adventure to find a home. He ends up in a town called Two Mills where the race is divided. Magee makes it his mission to make the town see it should not be separated but be brought together.

This book would be a good book to read to 3rd graders, they would like to hear the adventures that Magee had along the way to the town Two Mills.

A class activity that would be fun and different would be to make up a jump rope rhyme like in the book. There was a rhyme made up about Magee, the kids can use this then make one up of their own.

This is a story about a boy who was born with the name Jeffery Lionel Magee. However, when the boy was very young his parents were killed. When Jeffery’s life began to change so did his name. The boy became known as Maniac Magee and soon became the town legend. Maniac Magee could run like no other, hit like no other, and undid knots like no other. However, Maniac became famous for something much more important. Maniac was known for what he did for the kids from the East and West Sides.

In relating, this was a very heartwarming story. Jerry Spinelli did an excellent job with Maniac’s character. The book did a great job addressing racism and family throughout the story.

In the classroom, the students would address the issue of racism. The students would also talk about making assumptions. The students would tell of a time where they made assumptions about something before they really even new about the topic. ( )

Maniac Magee, Jeffrey Lionel, is the story of a boy who could literally almost do anything, so it seems to other kids. He can catch footballs like nobody’s business, he can untie knots like a sailor, and he can read quicker than any kid he knows. His parents passed away and that left him homeless. A black family takes him in and everything is great until racism forces him to move. He was not there kind. He soon meets up with an old minor league baseball player who is now a caretaker at a local zoo. They become instant friends and begin to teach each other so much.
This is a very entertaining book. Everybody knew a kid like Maniac when they were growing up, and everyone wanted to be like him! It deals with racism, homelessness, death of parents, and other important issues. I gave this book two thumbs up and I will defiently be making it a classroom reader!
Since this book deals with racism and being homeless, this would be a great book to read if you have students in your class who are just that, a minority or has a rough home life. They could write a letter to one of the characters in the story and tell them what they thought about the book. They could dig deeper into the racism issue and go back in time and research about that era. They could do journal writing on how they would feel if they were in Maniacs shoes and what they would do.
( )

Jeffrey “Maniac” Magee is an 11-year-old homeless orphan whose athletic feats are the stuff of legend. He winds up in a town geographically divided by race, and moves between the black and white sides, looking for an address and a home, encountering bullies, the prejudiced and good people of both colors. The characters, setting, and descriptions are especially strong (particularly the frequent references to Philadelphia-area delicacy butterscotch Krimpets), and in my opinion that makes up for any incredulity in the plot.

"Childhood recollected takes on a quality that is practically indistinguishable from what we think of as myth," author Jerry Spinelli said in an interview with Jennifer M. Brown for Publishers Weekly, July 17, 2000. In his acceptance speech for the 1990 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction, Spinelli said, “I thought about the world that children inhabit. I don't know about you, but it's a world that, in many ways, I find indistinguishable from myth and legend.”

The book has been described by many critics as part realistic fiction, part tall tale. Spinelli intentionally wrote the book this way because he believes children have trouble distinguishing between fable and realistic fiction. For me the most unrealistic part of the story was the way Maniac was able to coerce the young McNab brothers to go to school, when Maniac did not go himself.

Nevertheless, I think this book was deserving of the 1991 Newbery Medal and is one that children, especially boys, would enjoy (particularly the fantastic portions). Written at a fourth- to fifth-grade reading level, it could spark all sorts of discussions about homelessness and social class distinctions for that age group. In Maniac Magee, we see that bullies and discrimination are not limited by color, and racial prejudice is not exclusive to one community. More importantly, though, we see the possibility of a world where children can exist who, like Maniac, do not understand what racial barriers are.

I listened to the audiobook read by actress S. Epatha Merkerson (of Law and Order fame). She did a marvelous job creating different voices for each character, especially the children. Indeed, her characterizations (and Spinelli’s writing) were such that I often couldn’t remember if the Beales, the Pickwells, Grayson, and the McNabs were black or white – and isn’t that the whole remarkable point of the book?

[This review also appears on my blog, Bookin' It.] ( )