Jerry Spinelli is an American writer who has authored over thirty-five novels for children and adolescents.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Spinelli decided to become a writer after a poem he had written about football was printed in the local newspaper. Spinelli attended Gettysburg College, serving as the editor of the literary magazine The Mercury. While he held several day jobs after graduating, his focus was always on the fiction he would write during breaks, in the evening, and on the weekend.
Though his first four novels, each written for adults, were rejected by publishers, Spinelli found success writing literature for children after publishing Space Station Seventh Grade in 1982. Among Spinelli's most famous works are Maniac Magee (1991 Newbery Medal Winner), Wringer (1998 Newbery Medal Winner), Loser, and Love, Stargirl. His novels often tackle complex themes such as race, love, and belonging.
Jerry Spinelli and his wife Eileen, who has illustrated many of his stories, live in Pennsylvania. The couple has six children and twenty-one grandchildren, and they continue to write children's fiction together.
Jerry Spinelli is the author of Crash, which was first published during 1995 and was later published during 2004 by Laurel Leaf. This fictional novel tells the story of John "Crash" Coogan, an egotistical seventh grader who values brawn over...
Published in 2003, Jerry Spinelli's Loser is a children's novel about a boy who struggles to fit in with his peers due to his clumsiness, poor grades, and lack of self-awareness. Nicknamed "Loser" after failing to win a team race, Donald Zinkoff...
Maniac Magee is the sixth book written by American children's author Jerry Spinelli. Due to its careful, bittersweet rendering of racism in 1980s and 1990s in the United States, the book, published in 1990, won an incredible number of awards...
Milkweed, written by Jerry Spinelli, is a young adult fiction novel published in 2003. It takes place in Warsaw, Poland, and the main character is mainly called Misha Pilsudski. Spinelli describes this Misha's life during the Holocaust, where he...
Stargirl is a young adult novel written by Jerry Spinelli that narrows in on the personalities and issues of students in high schools. The book earned the Parents Choice Gold Award; a New York Times Bestseller, an ALA Top Ten Best Books Award...
The novel Wringer is a novel written by the American writer Jerry Spinelli and published in 1997. Just like other previous books written by Spinelli, Wringer is a young adult novel that focuses on pre-adolescent characters and the struggles they...
