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Jerry Spinelli
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Jerry Spinelli

Did you know??
  • In elementary school Jerry Spinelli went to school dressed as a cowboy and sang a song
  • Jerry's childhood nickname was "Spit"
  • Growing up, Jerry loved to read cereal boxes
  • Jerry was once attacked by leeches
  • When Jerry's sixth grade teacher read a poem he wrote, she accused him of copying it

In the book WRINGER, Palmer is faced with his tenth birthday. In his town, ten-year olds get the honor of wringing the necks of birds not completely killed in the big shoot-off during Family Fest.  He does not want to have this job at all, but what can he do?  Palmer has to come to grips with his feelings and make a stand for what he believes is right.  The School Library Journal calls this book, "A moral drama sure to engage  young reader and promote classroom discussion."  Jerry Spinelli has a gift for introducing very heavy topics, but as New York Times book reviewer Benjamin Cheever says, "He does this with great care and sensitivity."
 
CRASH is the story of Crash Coogan, your basic middle-school bully.  He's been picking on Penn for years now.  When events in his life begin to bring perspective, Crash starts to rethink his bully ways.  Again, the book is presented in a way that is not condescending, not just saying "Don't be a bully," but really showing the reader the consequences.  Publisher's Weekly says, "Without being preachy, Spinelli packs a powerful moral wallop, leaving it to the pitch-perfect narration to drive home the point."  He makes his stories somehow so believable that the reader is pulled far into the book.  Booklist says, "Spinelli's writing style is great for kids at this age-group, fast-paced and funny...here's one for the guys."
 
Both of these books deal with making a personal decision that goes against the norm, isn't the easy way.  Spinelli makes these books about the characters and readers identify completely with their struggle as if it were there own.  The writing never seems forced, even in the most awkward scenes.  He identifies with the emotions of the reader and always takes them on a tough but rewarding journey.

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Jerry Spinelli

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A Select Bibliography by Melanie Machos
Books that touched my life

- *Spinelli, Jerry. 1996. CRASH. New York: Knopf. ISBN: 0679879579.

- Spinelli, Jerry. 1991. FOURTH GRADE RATS. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590442430.

- *Spinelli, Jerry. 1998. KNOTS IN MY YO-YO STRING: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A KID. New York: Knopf. ISBN: 0679887911.

- Spinelli, Jerri. 1997. THE LIBRARY CARD. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0590386336.

- Spinelli, Jerry. 2002. LOSER. New York: Joanna Cotler Books. ISBN: 0060001933.

- Spinelli, Jerry. 1990. MANIAC MAGEE: A NOVEL. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN: 0316807222.

- Spinelli, Jerry. 2000. STARGIRL. New York: Knopf. ISBN: 0679886370.

- *Spinelli, Jerry. 1997. WRINGER. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 0060249137

* Used as a reference on this Web Page