Authors Study Project Author Jerry Spinelli By Payton

Authors Study Project Author: Jerry Spinelli By: Payton Schwantes

Book one Title: Report to the Principal's office Author: Jerry Spinelli Publish Date: 1991 Summary At a new Plumstead Middle School, and there are four sixth graders who, meet in the principal’s for lunch. Hillary Kain and Sunny Wyler are best friends. They live across the street from each other. But when Hillary and Sunny find out they are going to separate middle schools, they are extremely mad/sad. Sunny vows to not change her shirt, not wash her hair, and never even smile until she gets suspended and into the same school as Hillary. Eddie Mott is a child who wantsto fit in, yet still has a hard time fitting in and just wants to go back to his old school with just one teacher. Salem Brownmiller, a girl who loves to write (once she starts you can’t stop her), likes this because she is writing a story about a sixth-grade boy's first day at middle school – and Eddie is the perfect fit. Dennis "Pickles" Johnson, a famous child inventor, somehow finds himself with the other three children. And on the first day, they are all sent to report to the principal, Charles Brimlow who just wants the kids to be friends and be happy.

Book two Title: The Library Card Author: Jerry spinelli Copyright Date: 1997 Summary The book The Library Card is about four kids who each have some problem in life that the library card helps solves. During the course of the four stories, the library card changes each of their lives for the better. The main character of the first section, Mongoose, struggles with peer pressure from his friend Weasel influences Mongoose to steal and to skip school. After coming across the library card, Mongoose overcomes this challenge. The second character, Brenda, is addicted to watching television. She can't watch television for a whole week of school for a school project the great turnoff week. During this time, she encounters the library card, which shows her the benefits of reading many kinds of different books. The third character, Sonseray, is a child who lives with his uncle, a migrant worker. Life is hard for him without any stable friends, but one day when he discovers the library card and takes out a book, he tries to get away from loneliness. The final character, April Mendez, has just moved for her father's job on a mushroom farm. She boards a "moving library, " which becomes subject to an attempted hijacking. The hijacker (Nanette) and April become friends because of their mutual interest in the library card.

Book Three Title: Maniac Magee Author: Jerry Spinelli Copyright Date: 1990 Summary After Jeffrey Magee's parents die in a train derailing, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. However, their toxic marriage drives him to run away to the city of Two Mills, Pennsylvania. There, Jeffery meets Amanda Beale, a resident of the African. American section of Two Mills - East End - and a reader of books and encyclopedias. They soon become friends due to Jeffreys interest in reading and begins to grow due to his associations with black children and adults, meeting the town bullies, and wowing of crowds in a series of sports games. Maniac moves around from house to house, living with the Beales, then with the zoo keeper Earl Grayson, and then with the Mc. Nabs. Maniac Magee faces hate due to his race throughout the book, but he eventually finds a permanent home through the friends who come to love him as family.

Fun Facts about Jerry Spinelli ❏ He was born on February 1 1941, he's 76 years old ❏ He currently lives in Phoenixville Pennsylvania Awards won ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ John Newbery Medal 1998, 1991 · Wringer, Maniac Magee Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature 2000 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award 2004, 1992 · Loser, Maniac Magee Golden Kite Award for Fiction 2004 · Milkweed ❏ Went to Gettys. Burg College ❏ The only book turned into a movie was Maniac magee

Likes and dislikes about the author LIKES- I liked how descriptive he writes and how he explains everything in great detail. An example of this is in Maniac Magee he describes Mars Bar to the dirty shoes and the tip of his half eaten candy bar. I like how is books did not drag on forever. All of the books I read were under 200 pages. DISLIKES - All of his books are written in the third person so you did not know what the character was really thinking. So when Maniac got bullied you did not really know what his reaction was, because you were not inside his head.

I would recommend this book because he uses storylines and characters that are very relatable and he uses very descriptive language so you always know what's happening and aren't confused. I would recommend it to people who just want a short interesting read and like stories that are realistic because those are types of books he writes.

Types of characters in Jerry Spinelli's books He writes about characters who go through struggles. In Maniac Magee, the character is struggling with fitting in and being accepted for who he is. In Report to the Principals office Sunny does not want to go to school without her best friend and Eddie does not want to change and go to Middle School. In The Library Card each of the four stories deal with the characters overcoming a struggle through the use of a library card. At the end of all of the books the characters overcome their struggle.

Themes/issues Each of the characters in books overcome a struggle. In Maniac Magee his struggle is fitting into a new town, new house, family and getting bullied. In Report to Principals office, Sunny is going to a different school as her best friend. Eddie has to deal with a big school and trying to fit in. In The Library Card Mongoose has to decide if he should give into peer pressure or do what he thinks is right. April moved from a big city to a farm and is lonely. Brenda has to deal without television and find herself. Sonseray is overcoming the death of his mother and is trying to find a connection to her. In Maniac Magee throughout the story he kept getting bashed on because of his skin color. On a hot summer day and he was playing with all the kids and an old man went up to him and said “go back to your own kind”. They wrote “Go home fish belly” on the wall of the Beale’s house, where he was staying. Magee ends up leaving the Beale’s house because he thought he was a hassle. At the end of the book he comes back to the Beale’s and overcomes his struggle of fitting in. In The Library Card Brenda is addicted to watching television, and never missing watching the Dennisson Twins show. She can’t watch it for a week because of the Great TV Turn Off Week. She even watches her neighbors TV through binoculars. She finds a library card where her TV should be, and is bored so she goes to the library and finds a book about herself and realized that books are not bad, In Report to the Principal’s Sunny is upset about not being able to go to school with her friend. She vows not wash her hair or change her shirt until she gets to go to school with her friend. Sunny has lunch in the principal’s office and meets new kids from the school. She also spends time looking for the hampster with the same group of kids. Sunny decides after hanging out with the kids and making friends the new school isn’t so bad afterall.

Author Writing Style Jerry Spinelli writing style is always in the third person for his point of view. He also stirs empathy for the main characters. He creates a setting and is very descriptive. For his word choice all of the books were written in the 90’s so he used old school words. In each of the books I read there are multiple plot lines. All of the main characters in the story are dynamic because they grow and develop throughout the story. Patterns and Plot/storyline in each of the books there is a struggle the main character overcomes, the struggles for some of them are fitting in, accepting people and things for who they are, dealing with peer pressure.