Bibliography
Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee.
Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.
Summary
Jeffery Lionel Magee became an orphan when he was three-years-old. Then he was shipped to his relatives to live, but eventually he ran away. His journey in and out of homes in Town Mills tells the story of Maniac's acceptance and rejection from whites and blacks in the neighborhood. Maniac gains and looses friends with his ability to run fast. He meets Megan and her family takes Maniac in to live for awhile. Maniac seems to invoke extreme emotions from a bully called Mars Bar, a local football and a baseball star in the neighborhood. Then he meets a man he finally finds friendship and mutual respect for. Earl Grayson is the zoo yards-keeper and ex-baseball player and he cannot read. Maniac teaches him to read and stays by his side until Earl's death. In the end Megan convinces Maniac that his place is with her family.
My Impression
This 1991 Newbery Award winning book was a little disappointing to me. I loved the plot and the theme of the book, but thought it was written in a rather disjointed way. The fact that it won a Newbery makes me realize I am not a book critic, but I do know what books give me enjoyment. I was a library aide when this book was published and fourth and fifth grade boys could not read it fast enough. I am glad for the appeal of this book to young boys as I think it has a wonderful message and helps the reader look at himself/herself in regards to racism.
Review
"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 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 wit broad appeal, which suggest that to solve problems of racism, people must first know each other as individuals."
Use in Library
This would be a good book to read as a class and have discussions about race and acceptance. The class could also break into groups and have various collaborative assignments such as: character analysis or plot study. I found several websites with lesson plans to use with a Maniac Magee study.
Review. (1990, June 1). [Review of the book Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli]. School Library Journal. Available from: http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?sid=283a421f-2098-46f8-a527-914aa747bd8c%40sessionmgr113&vid=5&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=9008061276
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