Jerry Spinelli

Jerry Spinelli (born February 1, 1941)<ref name=JS.NET /> is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include Maniac Magee,<ref name="WP">Template:Cite news</ref> Stargirl, and Wringer.

Biography

Spinelli was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and currently lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. At the age of 16, his love of sports inspired him to compose a poem about a recent football victory, which his father published in the local newspaper without his knowledge. It was at this time he realized that he would not become a major league baseball player, so he decided to become a writer.<ref name="WP" />

At Gettysburg College, Spinelli spent his time writing short stories and was the editor of the college literary magazine, The Mercury.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After graduation, he became a writer and editor for a department store magazine. The next two decades, he spent his time working "normal jobs" during the day so that he had the energy to write fiction in his free time. He found himself writing during lunch breaks, on weekends, and after dinner.<ref name=WETA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

His first few novels were written for adults and were all rejected. His fifth novel was also intended for adults but became his first children's book. This work, Space Station Seventh Grade, was published in 1982.<ref name=WETA />

Spinelli graduated from Gettysburg College in 1963 and acquired his MA from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. In 1977, he married Eileen Mesi,<ref name="JS.NET">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> another children's writer.<ref name=WETA /> Since about 1980, as Eileen Spinelli, she has collaborated with illustrators to create dozens of picture books. They have six children and 21 grandchildren.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Works

Title	Year	Ref.
Space Station Seventh Grade	1982
Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?	1984	<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
Night of the Whale	1985	<ref name=":0" />
Jason and Marceline	1986	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dump Days	1988	<ref name=":0" />
Maniac Magee	1990 – Newbery Award<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>	<ref name=":0" />
The Bathwater Gang	1990	<ref name=":0" />
Hallie Jefferys Life	1991
Fourth Grade Rats	1991	<ref name=":0" />
Report to the Principal’s Office	1991	<ref name=":0" />
There's a Girl in My Hammerlock	1991	<ref name=":0" />
Do the Funky Pickle	1992	<ref name=":0" />
Who Ran My Underwear Up the Flagpole?	1992	<ref name=":0" />
The Bathwater Gang Gets Down to Business	1992	<ref name=":0" />
Picklemania	1993	<ref name=":0" />
Tooter Pepperday	1995	<ref name=":0" />
Crash	1996	<ref name=":0" />
The Library Card	1997	<ref name=":0" />
Wringer	1997 – Newbery honor book	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Blue Ribbon Blues: A Tooter Tale	1998	<ref name=":0" />
Knots in My Yo-Yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid	1998	<ref name=":0" />
Stargirl	2000	<ref name=":0" />
Loser	2002	<ref name=":0" />
Milkweed: A Novel	2003	<ref name=":0" />
My Daddy and Me	2003	<ref name=":0" />
Love, Stargirl	2007	<ref name=":0" />
Eggs	2007	<ref name=":0" />
Smiles to Go	2008	<ref name=":0" />
I Can Be Anything	2010	<ref name=":0" />
Jake and Lily	2012	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Third Grade Angels	2012
Hokey Pokey	2013	<ref name=":0" />
Mama Seeton's Whistle	2015
The Warden's Daughter	2017
My Fourth of July	2019
Dead Wednesday	2021

In culture

George Plimpton related an anecdote about Spinelli having bought at auction an evening with the Plimptons, in New York City, during which George Plimpton introduced Spinelli to writers and editors dining at Elaine's, and two months after which Spinelli wrote Plimpton to announce the publication of Spinelli's first book (a children's book) by Houghton Mifflin.<ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:LCAuth (every one names an illustrator)
• The Papers of Jerry Spinelli are held in Gettysburg College's Special Collections & Archives. The collection includes manuscripts 1961–2003 as well as other materials.