| Booktalk
#1
Jeffrey
Lionel Magee's parents died when he was young, and one day he decides he
can no longer stand to live with his aunt and uncle and runs away. He keeps
running, performing amazing sports feats along the way that earn him the
legendary name "Maniac." When runs into Amanda Beale and is taken into
the Beale home and treated as one of the family. For a while, all is well;
Jeffrey has a loving family and a real address. The problem, however, is
that Jeffrey is white, and he has been taken in by a black family in a
town that is very racially divided. While most people don't mind his being
with the Beales, a few begin to cause trouble, so Jeffrey leaves. He lives
for a while in a baseball equipment room with an old man, and then with
a dysfunctional white family, but he only really feels at home with the
Beales. Jeffrey takes all of his surroundings in stride and believes wholeheartedly
that people are people regardless of the shade of their skin. Eventually,
he becomes friends with the black boy who caused the trouble with the Beales
and brings about the most change in racial attitudes that the town has
seen in a long time.
(Linda
Wolfgram, wolfgraml@crpl.cedar-rapids.lib.ia.us,
Middle/High School Media Specialist, Benton Community Schools, Van Horne,
IA)
Booktalk
#2
Jeffrey Magee was a legend in the town of Two Mills at the tender age of
12. There he became Maniac Magee, and not just because he befriended
Amanda Beale, who lived on the East End, where people who looked like him
never went. Nor was it because he braved Mr. Finsterwald’s West End
backyard, where kids who did look like him never dared to tread.
Jeffrey was a legend mostly for his ability to catch impossible passes,
hit impossible pitches, and because he ran continuously though both neighborhoods
in search of something.
No one in Two Mills had known Jeffrey when his parents left him an orphan
in the care of his Uncle Dan and Aunt Dot, whose bizarre behavior had motivated
him to run. But what was he looking for? Find out, as you watch
Jeffrey Maniac Magee run in and out of the lives of people who will be
forever changed because they met him; and who will change him forever as
well. Read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. (Gail King, grking@bellsouth.net,
USC
- SLIS)
Booktalk #3
Maniac Magee is a young boy,
who takes an interest in people. When he comes to a racially divided town,
he is overwhelmed. How can he get the town to live as friends?
This is a story of humor, emotion, and friendship. You will be overwhelmed
by joy when you read this book. I know I was. After this book,
you’ll set your differences behind you. Maniac Magee is a funny and
interesting book. You will love Maniac. I really liked Maniac.
I hope you read and enjoy this book. (Rachel W., student)
Booktalk #4
Jeffrey Magee is not a normal
boy. In fact, he is so NOT normal that an entire town has taken to calling
him a legend. Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee sleeps with buffaloes at the local
zoo, runs faster than anyone, and isn't afraid to cross any town barriers,
no matter how dangerous. When it comes down to it, Maniac isn't afraid
of much of anything-- except a trolley in Bridgeport. He doesn't go to
school, he can un-tie any size knot you might have, and he has a weakness
for Butterscotch Krumpets. What is Maniac's only problem? Some people dislike
him due to jealousy, or even fear. But Maniac never gives up on anyone--
except will he give up on himself? He can't find a family, or a home. To
find out if Maniac ever finds a place to live and a family to call his
own, read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. (Danielle Stogenson, dr-stogenson@wiu.edu,
college student)
Booktalk #5
My name is Amanda Beale. I’m
from a town called Two Mills. I want to tell you about a white boy I met
named Jeffrey Lionel Magee. Well to most people around here he was known
as Maniac Magee His parents died when he was young and was then sent to
live with his aunt and uncle. When he decided he could no longer deal with
their bizarre behavior he began to literally run everywhere until one day
he met me. I thought how strange it was for this white boy to be on the
East end of town where most of the folks like me are all black. Soon after
I met Jeffrey my family took him in and fed and clothed him as if he were
their own. The thing about Jeffrey you see is that he never saw a difference
between the colors. People were just people. That was until a mean old
man called him “whitey” and told him to go home to his kind. Poor Jeffrey
was stunned at this man’s words. He gathered a few of his things and he
quickly left our home. I heard rumors about him living with animals and
all the interesting things he did including tackling Cobbler’s knot but
mostly he just ran everywhere. To find out what happens to Jeffrey read
the contemporary realistic fiction novel called Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.
(Nicole Mason, nr-lorigan@wiu.edu, college student) |
