Manic Magee is a novel written by Jerry Spinelli and published in
1990. This book won the Newbery Award in
1991 as well as several other awards.
Summary
Jeffrey Magee was left to
live with his stoic aunt and uncle after his parents met their tragic death in
a trolley car accident. After many
dinners with no communication between the aunt and uncle, Jeffrey decides to
take off. Thus begins the tall tale of
the boy who became known as Maniac.
Maniac
ran and ran away. He eventually met up with Amanda Beale and didn’t notice that
he was the wrong color on the black side of town. Amanda’s family takes Maniac in and treats
him as one of their own. Maniac is the
kind of kid who can do whatever he sets his mind to. This is a good way to make friends and
enemies. After some kids, including Mars
Bar Thompson decide they have had enough of the boy wonder, Maniac feels he has
put the Beale family at risk by his association with them.
He
leaves the Beale family and goes to live with the buffalo at the zoo. An elderly almost baseball hero Earl Grayson
saves his life and the two become inseparable.
Maniac teaches Earl to read and that black people aren’t much different
than white people and Earl teaches Maniac some mad baseball skills. Sadly the friendship ends and Maniac is back
on the road, filled with grief.
Maniac
brings home some runaway boys to the bully John McNab who decides Maniac may be
OK. Maniac stays with the racist family
for a while to keep watch on the younger McNabs. Maniac is stunned to learn that the McNabs
are preparing for a rebellion of the East End blacks.
Maniac
attempts to bridge the racial divide. In
the end, it is his own vulnerabilities that unite the town.
Impression
“But thats okay, because 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 part, well, just
run you're hand under your movie seat and be very, very careful not to let the
facts get mixed up with the truth.”
― Jerry Spinelli,
Maniac Magee
Pecos Bill, Paul
Bunyan, and Maniac Magee… All
super-human characters living their lives as if they were everyday people. One event is more unbelievable than the
next. This fast paced story tackles serious
racial issues with breezy language and whimsical metaphors. The author endears you to Maniac, while at
the same time making you feel jealous of his feats. He uses Maniac to prove that people are
pretty much the same, black or white.
Everyone brushes their teeth at night and puts their toothbrush in one
of those holders.
The story shows the
evolution of the characters and their attitudes. Maniac is surprised that the two sides of
town are unwilling to peacefully engage and he struggles to fix the
problem. I love how the story ended,
letting the other characters become unlikely heroes.
I can see how the trash
talking language, themes, events, and pace of the story would appeal to upper
elementary students, especially boys. It
is a far-fetched, fun read, with a powerful message.
Professional Reviews
This exceptional novel is
abundant with such themes as individuality, aloneness, loneliness, family,
community, bravado, bullies, death, tolerance, peace, prejudice, and
neighborhood lore. Some readers might want to examine the friendship theme and
discuss how Maniac developed special bonds with Amanda Beale, a fellow
book-lover; Mars Bar, a former enemy; and the kindly caretaker Grayson who
lived at the Two Mills YMCA.
Whatever themes are pursued,
readers will find it exciting to know Maniac Magee. Perhaps he hated conflict
so much because of the sting of his upbringing and the cold, harsh silences he
had to deal with day after day. No wonder he turned out to be such a natural
peacemaker-he was continually reaching out to bring people together.
-- Zingher, 2006
An occasionally long-winded,
but always affecting, parable-like story about racism and ignorance. Jeffrey
Magee is twice homeless--once involuntarily, at age three, when his parents
plunge with a high-speed trolley off a bridge; the second time eight years
later, when he voluntarily leaves the troubled home of his aunt and uncle.
Jeffrey's subsequent yearlong flight generates a host of legends:, his sudden
appearances and astonishing athletic prowess earn him the name
"Maniac," and his just-as-sudden disappearances ensure his fame.
Innocently, he crosses between two strictly segregated parts of town, the white
East End and the black West End, making friends and enemies in both camps and
managing to soften the lines of segregation; later, he finds a new home in the
West. If this is sometimes a bit like a chalkboard lesson, it may be because
racism is still a volatile subject that is more comfortably dealt with in
parable form. The metaphorical style is a brave change from the realism of
Spinelli's other books, while fans of his earlier, tongue-in-cheek, streetwise
tone will find it also an integral part of this story--ballast for the mythic,
shifting picture of Maniac's year on the run.
--Kirkus Review, 1990
Library Uses
This novel can be used to
spark discussions about racism and its roots.
Also, the book could be used as an example of a tall tale and to
illustrate the use of metaphors.
References
Maniac Magee by Jerry
Spinelli | Kirkus. (1990, March 15). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jerry-spinelli/maniac-magee/
Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac
Magee. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Zingher, G. (2006). Maniac
and his themes. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23(2), 52-53.
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