Response to Literature

Question #13: "Which character would you like to be in this book? Why?"


Which character would I like to be in Maniac Magee? And why? Well, let's see, the character that would best fit me would be Amanda Beale. One reason why she would be my character is because she is, obviously, a girl like me. Second, according to pages 43-44 in Maniac Magee, Amanda and her family les Maniac live at their house when they found out that he was homeless. If I had a friend who was homeless and had nowhere to go, I would offer him/her to stay at my place. Thirdly, Amanda can be a brat sometimes, but she was just like a sister to Maniac Magee. She shared a room with him and even let him read some of her books. I'm not much of a brat, but if my good friend did live at my house, I would be nothing more than a sister to him/her. I would even share a room and my books to my friend. This is who I would like to be in Maniac Magee: Amanda Beale. And these are the reasons why I would like to be her.

Theme Post 2

The theme of this book is about homelessness because ever since Maniac Magee ran away from his original home, he was running all his life. For example, he ran away after the baseball pitch with John McNab, he ran away from running into the Cobras all the way to East End. He also ran away from the Beale house and from the McNab house after a short while of living with them. He slept in the zoo and in the park, and he ate out of the trash can, just like any homeless person would. To conclude, the theme of Maniac Mage is homelessness.

Character Post 2

Amanda Beale is one of Maniac Magee's best friends. She became more than his friend when Maniac moved in with her and her family, she basically became his sister. She can try to be ecouraging to Maniac when he's in a certain situation such as East End shunning him. She tends to whine a lot, for she is the type of person who has control over others. She also loves to read books...lots and lots of books. One of her favorite books was Encyclopedia A, which got shredded into confetti after Maniac untied Cobble's Knot. Even though she has a tendancy to act like a brat and become easily angered, she is always loving and caring to Maniac Magee.

Theme Post

The theme of this story is about racism because Maniac Magee soon learns that black and white people are separated by ends of a block. Although Maniac does not see issues in color, he learns that almost every friend he makes at East and West end, they seem to have a problem with people who are not the same colored-skin as them.

Character Post 1

Maniac Magee was born with the name of Jeffery Lionel Magee (Spinelli, 5). After his parents died in a bus crash, he went to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan, who hated each other (6). His last night of a normal life was at his school chorus, when he started screaming in the middle of a song (7). He ran away from his old life and onto his new life of running. He started off in Hollidaysburg, where he first met Amanda Beale (10). Maniac Magee rescued Arnold Jones from Finsterwall's yard (18-19). He ran from the dump, the tracks, the creek, and stayed at the Pickwell's house for dinner (20). Maniac meets John McNab by being the first kid to play frogball and beat him (25-26). He runs into McNab and the Cobras, and runs from them all the way to East End (30-32). Maniac meets Mars Bar Thompson (33).

Works Cited:

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. 1990.

Author Post

10 Facts About Jerry Spinelli:



1. He was the author of over 15 popular books.

2. He was the winner of more than 15 childrens book awards such as the Newberry Medal.

3. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Eileen.

4. Most of his books are funny and true to life. (http://www.jerryspinellibiography.com/)

5. He was known best for his novels Maniac Magee and Wringer. (www.wikipedia.com/jerryspinelli)

6. He also wrote the novels Space Station Seventh Grade, Jason and Marceline, and Who Put the Hair in my Toothbrush? (www.kidsread.com/jerryspinelli)

7. In college, he went to Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. (http://www.jerryspinellibiography.com/)

8. He began writting when he was only 16. (www.houghtonmifflinreading.com/jerryspinelli)

9. He writes mostly about events from his life or feelings from his childhood. (www.houghtonmifflinreading.com/jerryspinelli)

10. When he was a kid, he wanted to be a baseball player or a cowboy. (www.goodreads.com/jerryspinelli)


Works Cited:

http://jerryspinellibiography.com
http://wikipedia.com/jerryspinelli
http://kidsread.com/jerryspinelli
http://houghtonmifflinreading.com/jerryspinelli

Author Post

10 facts:

1.

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