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Summary: Looking into non-traditional families
Review: Jerry Spinelli breaks down the stereotypes of what a "traditional" family should be in his novel Maniac Magee. Jeffrey Magee, (known as Maniac for some outlandish feats he performs) a strong-willed boy, uses his ingenuity to overcome adversity and find himself a home.Maniac is orphaned at three and moves in with his aunt and uncle who hate each other. Subsequently, they don't even talk to one another. After eight years of this non-existence, Maniac runs away from home. Maniac literally runs in search of a home. He becomes part of several families that he meets in the town of Two Mills. Suzanne Bunker says, "We are not the Cleavers, we have single-families; step-families; adoptive and foster families; children raised by grandparents, aunts and uncles; gay and lesbian families; and individuals of all ages living together, unrelated biologically but still a family" (116). The latter mirrors the situations in which Maniac finds himself. The first family with whom Maniac lives is the Beales. They are an African-American family living in the East End of Two Mills. They are a 'traditional' family (mom, dad, big sister Amanda, little sister Hester and little brother Lester), and they welcome him into this family with open arms; his skin color is of no significance to the Beales. On his first night there, Maniac checks the front door of the house:number 728.Maniac has a home. He is part of a family. He loves the Beales and the East End and all the colors of the East End. "He couldn't understand why they called themselves black ...he saw gingersnap and light fudge and dark fudge and acorn and butter rum and cinnamon and burnt orange. But they were never licorice which to him was real black" (Spinelli 51). Unfortunately, because of his white skin, not everyone loves Maniac in the East End. Maniac feels that he has to leave his beloved Beales to protect them. He runs until he meets Grayson, a caretaker at the zoo. Grayson, an older man, takes Maniac in and gives him a home. As Suzanne Bunkers comments, this mirrors a grandparent raising the child (116). At Thanksgiving, Maniac prays, "thank you for this warm house and our own little family" (Spinelli 108). He goes outside and paints "101" on the front door, justifying their existence and their home. Sadly, Grayson dies, and once again Maniac is orphaned. Maniac runs again until he finds another family, the McNabs. This family, from the West End, consists of a drunken father and three neglected sons. Maniac feels that these children live like orphans. Maniac tries to instill right from wrong in the McNab children but wonders, "how he could act as a father to these boys when he himself ached to be somebody's son?" (155). This is not a good environment for Maniac. The McNabs are racist, and Maniac cannot live with them. He feels pride for the East End. He runs away from the McNabs to the zoo, until Amanda Beale comes to call him home. "You are coming home...to sleep in your room...not here. This is not your home"(183). Maniac is happy to go home. "Children's literature is increasingly demonstrating that families cannot be so easily dichotomized as 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' and no one family is 'normal', 'typical', or representative of all families" (Bunkers 128). Spinelli embraces these new types of families that mirror our culture in his novel and because of this, he is able to give a boy a home to call his own. Cited works: Spinelli,Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston:Little, Brown and Company,1990. Bunkers, Suzanne. "We Are Not The Cleavers": Images of Non-traditional Families in Children's Literature"The Lion and the Unicorn 16.1 (1992):115-133.
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Summary: Maniac Magee
Review: Most people think Maniac Magee is special. At least that is what they think he is. Maniac Magee grew up in an ordinary house, having ordinary parents, on a ordinary street. Until his parents heart what Maniac Magee did for the black. Unitl his parents had a train crash and died. Everyone knows that he is special. He could run faster than anyone, untie the impossible knot, and could hit anyone's fastball with a bat. The main thing that he is famous for is what he did for the East and West end. I think this is a good book for all readers because it touches your what Maniac Magee did for the black. You can say that it is fantasy or even mysterious, but I think it is a love story.
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Summary: A Wounderful Read!
Review: Maniac Magee is a wounderful book! It is about a kid named Jeffrey Lionel Magee or Manic, who lives in a town where only one street separates the white people's neighborhood from the black people's neighborhood. Maniac is white and when he goes to live with a black family alot of people dissaprove of it. Maniac is not racist and dosn't understand why some people dislikes others because of the color of their skin. When a awful thing happens to the family he's living with, Maniac blames it on himself, so he runs away. Lots of things happen when he's out on the streets. He meets new friends and learns about the true meaning of friendship. Does Maniac go back to his family? You will only find out if you read this fabulous book that will truely captivate you.
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Summary: hello land twelers and Mr. Maniac Magee
Review: As king of Atlantis I enjoyed this book very much but I do not know the meaning of how you say...running I have counseld whith my wisefish and we have decided that it is proble a for of transpertation. I commend him for not bein racial and for trying to teach others the same., very corages of him. and also for making freinds out of his enemys. and no we did not sink atlantis on purpouse. sinsirly malodok ¥¥ P.S. i'm not one i'll be 12,749,208 yr on june
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Summary: Cool book
Review: I think the book Maniac Magee is a very well written book. Jerry Spinelli is a very good author. I like the book because it has a interesting storyline. It is sad because the boy is all alone and he doesn't have a lot of friends. I think that everybody should read this book because it tells kids that a lot of other kids have problems worse than their own.
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Summary: He really is a maniac!
Review: Do you know anyone who could run 200 miles in only 51 days? Do you know anyone who could make a home run out of a bunt? Maniac Magee did, he is not your typical kid. He ran away from his aunt's and uncle's house at a young age. He was excepted to stay with blacks and whites. Even though a lot of blacks were mean to him because of his skin color. Maniac Magee thought that this was wrong. Will he be able to bring blacks and whites together? Read the book to find out!
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Summary: Maniac Magee
Review: I rated my book a three because it was a good book, but I've read better books. There is no point, to me that someone would write this book. It was cool because in a way he kind of lived everywhere and ate everywhere. The age group I would put this book in is ten-thirteen. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders should like this book because alot of kids like to run. I'd recommend this book to someone who likes books about kids lives and if they like to run. I would not recommend this book to someone older because there is really no point to it, but that is just my opinion.
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Summary: Maniac Magee
Review: There are several main characters in this novel. For the first, the most important character's name is Magee. His real name is Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but people called him Maniac Magee. There is a black girl whose name is Amanda. She became a friend of Magee. There is Mars Bar who is a black guy. There is Hands Down who is a white guy. And Magee lived with Grayson, an old white man, for a while. The genre of this novel is fairy tale and adventure. Magee was born in an ordinary house but his parents died when he was only 3 years old. He moved to his aunt's house in Pensylvania. His aunt and uncle loved him very much but they hated each other. So Magee ran away from them at the age of 11. He met a black girl whose name was Amanda. They became friends and he started to live with her family. They were happy but had some problems because all members in Amanda's family were black except Magee. He was white. He decided to leave there in order not to give any disadvantages to them. In the novel, Magee met Mars Bar who was a black guy and Hands Down who was a white one. Magee wanted to be friends with them but, traditionally, they couldn't be friends due to the differences of their skin color. Actually, Magee didn't care about that and he had some special abilities so, they called him "Maniac Magee". Mars Bar and Hands Down fought with each other. However, they became friends thanks to Magee. At the end, Magee met Amanda again and came back to her house. Actually, Grayson's entering upon this novel is hard to understand. After Magee went out from Amanda's house, he met Grayson who was an old white man. They had a good time. They taught to each other new things. For example, Magee taught Grayson how to read and write. And he taught Magee how to throw "stop ball". They spent time together and loved each other, but Grayson died because of his age. This novel is about "Racism" and "Personality". If this novel had focused on "Personality" more than "Racism", Grayson would have been a very important character. But the main subject of this novel "Racism" rather than "Personality". Therefore, it's much better without Grayson's entering. It can make readers confused. Maniac Magee is originally for adolescents. It treats the racism problem but it's not too difficult to understand. The main subject is a difficult one but this novel describes the world of children (or adolescent). Thus, they can comprehend the meaning of this novel easily. This novel, at the same time, can be good for adults. They can think the racism problem again and more deeply than before. In fact, the racism problems are caused by adults, not by children. This novel gives people opportunities which make them examine themselves and think other problems which were also happened by them. There for this novel is worth to reading though it has some mistakes.
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Summary: Maniac Magee- a Kid Who Cares
Review: The story is mainly about a kid who runs away and ends up in a family who cares about him. The story shows love, caring, and sadness. I like the book because it is so sad. The author shows how people can care about others.
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Summary: Funny book for kids
Review: The book is about unbelieveable boy. Actually, it's a fairy tale. The main character-Jeffrey Liinel Magee got a strange personality. He could do anything other kids couldn't. That's why he became to be called "Maniac Magee". It's also about discrimination between Black and White. Anyway, you will see at the end of the book that friendship can make it better. I recommend this book for ages 10 and up. The story should be interesting for you. When you finish a chapter, you might want to know what will happen in the next chapter. However, you might get lost in some parts becuase Maniac always runs on. Sometimes, you might wonder where is he now!!! If you want to know how it is -interesting or confusing, read it!!!
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