He published his first book for kids, space station seventh grade, in. I enjoy reading stargirl by jerry spinelli, and i believe that it is an excellent book for young adults and for middleaged adults such as myself to read. When did jerry spinelli get his first book published answers. Jerry spinelli says most of his inspiration for writing childrens books came from his childhood. He attended gettysburg college and johns hopkins university. Stargirl is a young adult novel written by american author jerry spinelli and first published in 2000 stargirl was well received by critics, who praised stargirls character and the novels overall message of nonconformity. Apr 15, 2019 a graduate of gettysburg college, jerry spinelli spent years working as a magazine editor before his writing career took off. The new york times a spellbinding story about rites of passage. Disney to make jerry spinellis stargirl into a movie june 6, 2018 amanda woomerlimpert movies, newsopinions 0 one of the most iconic coming of age stories for teenage girls doesnt have wizards or. Spinelli graduated from gettysburg college in 1963 and acquired his ma from johns hopkins university in 1964. Spinelli was born in norristown, pennsylvania, and currently resides in phoenixville, pennsylvania. This work, space station seventh grade, was published in 1982. Transcript of authors live with jerry spinelli teachervision.
All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Jerry spinelli biography list of works, study guides. This italianamerican newbery medalist presents a humorous account of his childhood and youth in norristown, pennsylvania. Jerry spinelli is the author of over fifteen immensely popular books for young readers, including eggs, stargirl, space station seventh grade, newbery honor winner wringer, and maniac magee, winner of more than fifteen state childrens book awards in addition to the newbery medal. Jerry spinelli has a website called jerry spinelli intro. And he has been running over people ever since, especially penn webb, the. Jerry spinelli 1941 jerry spinelli born february 1, 1941 in norristown, pennsylvania is a noted childrens author, specializing on novels written for and about early adolescence. His first novel was space station seventh grade, which was published in 1982. Jerry spinellis imagination flew one night when one of his six children ate fried chicken that was being saved for the following day. With the twin success of his first two childrens novel, jerry spinelli continued to write more childrens and young adult books to the satisfaction and applause from his readers. His first few novels were written for adults and were all rejected. Spinelli originally wanted it to be an adult novel.
This study guide consists of approximately 52 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of wringer. Library of congress cataloginginpublication data spinelli, jerry. Since then, he has written over fifteen novels for adolescents, about adolescence. Awardwinning author of young adult novels whose best known works include wringer, stargirl, and maniac magee. Growing up in norristown, pennsylvania, spinellis first claim to fame was that a local paper published a poem he wrote about a hometown teams football victory.
After his high school football team won a big game, his classmates ran cheering through the streets all except spinelli, who went home and wrote a poem about the victory. The new york times bestselling sequel to newbery medalist jerry spinellis modernday classic stargirl. Spinelli made his picture book debut with my daddy and me, a loving tribute to fathers and sons. He credited his own childrens contentious relationship being the central theme of the novel. What was the first book that jerry spinelli wrote and published. Disney to make jerry spinellis stargirl into a movie june 6, 2018 amanda woomerlimpert movies, newsopinions 0 one of the most iconic coming of age stories for teenage girls doesnt have wizards or vampires in it. It became space station seventh grade, my first published novel.
Presents a moral question with great care and sensitivity. A modern classic from newbery medalist jerry spinelli. Most kids love his novel maniac magee, a book we think is a must read. Im glad i decided to take a chance on this author, though, because stargirl was a quality read. Designed and developed by temean consulting 2017 no part of this website may be reproduced without written permission from this sites webmaster. After his high school football team won a big game, his classmates ran cheering through the streets all except spinelli. Sunday, april 21st, saturday, may 4th, and saturday, may 11th at 1pm. In stories that range from humorous to heartbreaking, newberyawardwinner jerry spinelli reveals the amazing possibilities lurking behind library doors. His fifth novel was also intended for adults, but became his first childrens book. They include the likes of jason and marceline published in 1986 and dump days, a sequel to space station seventh grade published in 1988. Focussing on writing for adults, jerry spinelli wrote four unpublished novels before being brought into the limelight with the publication of his first childrens book, space station seventh grade in 1982. Spinelli, jerrychildhood and youthjuvenile literature.
This fictional novel tells the story of john crash coogan, an egotistical seventh grader who values brawn over. His first childrens book, space station seventh grade, was published in the early 1980s. Stargirl was well received by critics, who praised stargirls character and the novels overall message of nonconformity. Jerry spinelli bio, facts, family famous birthdays. To the surprise of jerry spinelli the poem was published the following. Spinelli originally wanted it to be an adult novel but adult publishers rejected it since the central character was a year old child and finally it became a famous childrens book. Since he had nothing to eat, he wrote about the incident, which later became the first page of his first published book,space station seventh grade little, brown, 1982. Jerry spinelli is an author who has written 23 books, including eggs, milkweed, stargirl, love stargirl, and the library card. I opened my lunch bag from the fridge one morning and found only bones someone had eaten all the meat from my fried chicken. Jake and lily by jerry spinelli and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Readers will devour this humorous glimpse of what jocks are made of.
Over the next fifteen years, spinelli wrote four novels that werent published, until finally his fifth novel, space station seventh grade, was published as a childrens book. After dinner one night, jerry hid five leftover chicken wings in the refrigerator so he could take them to work the next day. Jerry spinelli biography jerry spinelli born february 1, 1941 in norristown. It was a new york times bestseller, a parents choice gold award winner, an ala top ten best books for young adults award winner, and a publishers weekly best book of the. Hes written over 25 books, won a newbery award maniac magee, and a newbery honor wringer. Wringer free pdf, epub, rtf, txt free download ebook. No part of this website may be reproduced without written permission from this sites webmaster. This classic collection includes four of newbery awardwinning author jerry spinellis most popular books.
Spinelli first decided he wanted to become a writer at the age of 16, when his high school football team won a big game. Stargirl is a young adult novel written by american author jerry spinelli and first published in 2000. I got this book as a present a couple years ago and didnt even know that it was by jerry spinelli jake and lily 2012. I was as happy about that first book being published as i. Jerry spinelli is the author of crash, which was first published during 1995 and was later published during 2004 by laurel leaf.
His latest book, hokey pokey, is one of our favorites. This book contains many questions about stargirl and their answers. Spinelli described this event, and the description eventually turned in to the story line for his first published novel entitled space station seventh grade. Went to work that day and started a story with that as the basis. Wringer by jerry spinelli in epub, rtf, txt download e book. Little did i know that twentyfive years would pass before a book of mine would be published. Disney to make jerry spinellis stargirl into a movie. Jerry spinelli is an american author of over twenty books for children and. None of them guesses it at first, but that strange blue card will be their ticket to the pastand to a future that they never imagined. Jerry spinelli biography cliffsnotes study guides book. Jul 25, 2017 jerry spinelli writes some of the best books for middle grade students.
Jerry spinelli books, author biography, and reading level. His eighteenth book, wringer, also received a newbery honor. He published his first book for kids, space station seventh grade, in 1982. Whether you need a classic kids book or classroomproven teaching materials, discover it at. Home jerry news events books teachers faqs email designed and developed by temean consulting 2017 no part of this website may be reproduced without written permission from this sites webmaster.
Jerry spinellis first published novel was space station seventh grade 1982. Jerry spinellis numerous books are popular around the world. Jerry spinelli born february 1, 1941 is an american writer of children s novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. What was the first book that jerry spinelli wrote and. They have been published in many other languages, including portuguese, chinese, japanese, and greek. When he was in high school, he wrote a poem about a football game that was published in a newspaper. And paramount pictures has optioned his newest book, stargirl, for a film. It took jerry a lot of work and many years to reach his goal, but now he has had over 25 books published and is a successful author.
In 1982, jerry spinelli published his first successful novel, space station seventh grade, which was actually intended to be for adults. His fifth novel was also intended for adults but became his first childrens book. Knots in my yoyo string knots in my yoyo string jerry. Stargirl shows up at mica high and, at first, the student body is intrigued by her. Signed by the newbery medalist author on the title page. He is best known for maniac magee, stargirl and wringer. Born in norristown, pennsylvania, on february 1, 1941, jerry spinellis first taste of celebrity made him eager to. It was just such a thrill after all those years, and having written four books that were unpublished. Eventually, what he wrote turned into his first published novel, space station. This board is all about how to use spinellis books in the classroom, from eggs to stargirl. Jerry spinelli has 82 books on goodreads with 839404 ratings. Jerry spinelli has three dates planned where fans can meet him before 2pm performances for a book signing. Spinellis writing concerns controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and homelessness, while accurately and humorously depicting adolescents. Jerry spinelli is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers, including maniac magee, winner of the newbery medal, and stargirl, a new york times bestseller and an ala top ten best book for young adults.
Jerry spinelli is an american author of childrens books. In 1990, spinelli debuted the awardwinning novel maniac magee. When his poem was published in the local paper, spinelli decided to become a writer instead of a. It was the fifth book he had written, but the first one that was considered a childrens book. The inspiration behind spinellis first published book, space station seventh grade, came from a small, domestic dispute in the spinelli household over chicken wings. Jerry spinelli books biography and list of works author of.
I was as happy about that first book being published as i was about winning the newbery medal. We met author jerry spinelli when he was in manhattan recently. Jerry spinelli born february 1, 1941 in norristown, pennsylvania is a noted childrens author, specializing on novels written for and about early adolescence. Jerry spinellis first book was space station seventh grade, published in 1982. A graduate of gettysburg college, jerry spinelli spent years working as a magazine editor before his writing career took off. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry spinelli books biography and list of works author. Jerry spinelli born february 1, 1941 is an american writer of childrens novels that feature. Newbery honor book ala notable childrens book deeply felt. Jerry spinelli, relished childhood patricia newman. Visit scholastic, the worlds largest childrens book publisher. I had no idea i was writing a book at the time, he says. Disney to make jerry spinellis stargirl into a movie the. It was a new york times bestseller, a parents choice gold award winner, an ala top ten best books for young adults award. Love, stargirl picks up a year after stargirl ends and reveals the new life of the beloved character who moved away so suddenly at the end of stargirl. I hope that teachers of young adults will find it useful as a guide for discussions. This board is all about how to use spinelli s books in the classroom, from eggs to stargirl. Jerry spinelli began writing when he was 16 not much older than the hero of his book maniac magee. Well, i guess i would just say that the first book i had published, space station seventh grade, was the biggest breakthrough for me. When i was growing up, the first thing i wanted to be was a cowboy.