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Knots in My Yo-Yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
 Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0679887911 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
In this montage of sharply focused memories punctuated with b&w photographs, Spinelli (Maniac Magee; Wringer) reconstructs the experience of growing up during the '50s. His descriptions of his childhood universe (which does not extend beyond Norristown, Pa.) elicits the use of all five senses. He invites readers to gaze upon the same stars he studied as a child; to listen for the "not-very-loud" whistle of Mrs. Seeton calling not only her own brood but all the kids home to their suppers ("for a mother's call somehow touches us all"); to smell the "sour, vaguely rotten" aroma of the Adam Scheidt Brewing Company; to savor the taste of Texas Hot Wieners ("They had spunk. They fought back"); and to feel the "clack" of colliding teeth during his first kiss with Kathy Heller (in a game of Truth or Consequences). The... |
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Loser |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0060540745 |
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Book Review
Donald Zinkoff is one of the greatest kids you could ever hope to meet. He laughs easily, he likes people, he loves school, he tries to rescue lost girls in blizzards, he talks to old ladies. The only problem is, he's a loser. Until fourth grade, Zinkoff's uncontrollable giggling in class, sloppy handwriting, horrible flute playing, bad grades, clumsiness, and ineptitude at sports go largely unnoticed. When he blows a race for his team, however, his transition to loserdom is complete: "[Loser] is the word. It is Zinkoff's new name. It is not in the roll book." Fortunately, he doesn't really notice. As he did in Stargirl, Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli again explores the cruelty of a student body and how it does and doesn't affect one student, pure of spirit. Presumably if Loser makes one child view a... |
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Stargirl |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
037582233X |
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Book Review
"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl." In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wide-eyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating... |
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Stargirl |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440416779 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl." In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wide-eyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating... |
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Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0316806870 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
Feuding siblings take turns narrating this snappy account of the woes and joys of junior high. Ages 10-up. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Card catalog description
The sibling rivalry between twelve-year-old Megin and her older brother Greg intensifies after she ruins his science project and he retaliates by throwing her favorite hockey stick into the pond.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Milkweed |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Mass Market Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440420059 |
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Book Review
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli (Maniac McGee, Stargirl) paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naïve orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or, maybe he's a Gypsy, because his eyes are black, his skin is dark, and he wears a mysterious yellow stone around his neck. His new friend and protector Uri forces him to take the name Misha Pilsudski and to memorize a made-up story about his Gypsy background so that no one will mistake him for a Jew and kill him. Misha, a very young boy, is slow to understand what's happening around him. When he sees people running, he... |
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Crash |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440238579 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From Publishers Weekly
Spinelli (There's a Girl in My Hammerlock) takes the brawny, bullying jock who is the villain in so many middle-grade novels and casts him as the narrator of this agile tale. Ever since first grade "Crash" Coogan has been tormenting dweeby Penn Ward, a skinny vegetarian Quaker boy who lives in a tiny former garage with his aged parents. Now that they're in seventh grade, "chippy chirpy perky" Penn becomes an even better target: not only does Penn still wear outdated used clothes, he joins the cheerleading squad. But even though Crash becomes the school's star football player and wears the most expensive togs from the mall, he still can't get what Penn has?his parents' attention and the admiration of the most gorgeous girl in school. And when his beloved grandfather Scooter is severely disabled by a stroke, Crash... |
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Maniac Magee |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0316809063 |
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Book Review
Maniac Magee is a folk story about a boy, a very excitable boy. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say. It's also the story of how this boy, Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, confronts racism in a small town, tries to find a home where there is none and attempts to soothe tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town. Presented as a folk tale, it's the stuff of storytelling. "The history of a kid," says Jerry Spinelli, "is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball." And for this kid, four parts of fun. Maniac Magee won the 1991 Newbery Medal.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
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Maniac Magee |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Audio Compact Disc - Unabridged |
| ISBN: |
0307243184 |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
Book Review
Maniac Magee is a folk story about a boy, a very excitable boy. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say. It's also the story of how this boy, Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, confronts racism in a small town, tries to find a home where there is none and attempts to soothe tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town. Presented as a folk tale, it's the stuff of storytelling. "The history of a kid," says Jerry Spinelli, "is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball." And for this kid, four parts of fun. Maniac Magee won the 1991 Newbery Medal.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
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Library Card |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0590386336 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
A library card is a kind of magic ticket: a passport to places distant--unknown--even forbidden. In his latest offering, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes that idea and spins it until the story, its characters, and all of us are dizzy, and offers it as a prize to young readers up for the ride. The magic library card that turns up in the four separate stories in this book is a ticket to whatever each young character needs most at the time. Each story is imaginative, surprising, and well beyond the "books are good for you" theme one might expect from a tome with this title. To the reader, it's almost Twilight Zone-y. The 12-ish kids in these stories face varied turning points as they move toward adolescence. They all find their way thanks to a mysterious blue card that seems to have materialized... |
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Crash |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0679885501 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
Spinelli (There's a Girl in My Hammerlock) takes the brawny, bullying jock who is the villain in so many middle-grade novels and casts him as the narrator of this agile tale. Ever since first grade "Crash" Coogan has been tormenting dweeby Penn Ward, a skinny vegetarian Quaker boy who lives in a tiny former garage with his aged parents. Now that they're in seventh grade, "chippy chirpy perky" Penn becomes an even better target: not only does Penn still wear outdated used clothes, he joins the cheerleading squad. But even though Crash becomes the school's star football player and wears the most expensive togs from the mall, he still can't get what Penn has?his parents' attention and the admiration of the most gorgeous girl in school. And when his beloved grandfather Scooter is severely disabled by a stroke, Crash... |
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Milkweed |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0375813748 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
Book Review
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli (Maniac McGee, Stargirl) paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naïve orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or, maybe he's a Gypsy, because his eyes are black, his skin is dark, and he wears a mysterious yellow stone around his neck. His new friend and protector Uri forces him to take the name Misha Pilsudski and to memorize a made-up story about his Gypsy background so that no one will mistake him for a Jew and kill him. Misha, a very young boy, is slow to understand what's happening around him. When he sees people running, he... |
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Wringer |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0064405788 |
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| Availability: |
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Book Review
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli tells a story of peer pressure so foul, so horrifying, that Wringer should be shelved along with Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War. Nine-year-old Palmer dreads his upcoming 10th birthday. In his town, when boys are 10 years old they become "wringers," the boys who wring the necks of wounded pigeons at the annual Pigeon Day shoot. Palmer is sickened by the whole event. To make matters worse, his new buddies--Beans, Mutto, and Henry--have just discovered that Palmer has been hiding a pet pigeon in his room. What will Palmer do? Will he become a wringer to save face, or will he follow his heart? Wringer will appeal to preteens and younger teens who love to read suspenseful books on their own, but it would also be a good story to read aloud to spark discussion about... |
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My Daddy and Me |
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| Author: |
Jerry Spinelli |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0375806067 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
Book Review
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli's first picture book stars a flop-eared young pup who loves to spend time with his father when he gets home from work. Little wonder! Dad has plenty of energy at day's end for playing the harmonica, wrestling, planting tomatoes, making gingerbread men, and even for household chores: "When the house breaks,/ we have to fix it./ My job is to carry/ the toolbox/ and hand Daddy the hammer./ He says I'm his best helper." On the rare occasion, his dad is too pooped to play: "But never, ever is my daddy too tired/ to sing me a lullaby/ when it's time/ for bed." Seymour Chwast's thickly textured, color-saturated paintings of the goofy dog pair render the affectionate father-son bond tangible. Young children will surely be comforted by this warm, simple tribute to Dadkind. (Preschool) --Karin Snelson
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