Gary spinelli biography

American children's writer (born 1941)

Jerry Spinelli (born February 1, 1941) is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include Maniac Magee,Stargirl, and Wringer.

Biography

Spinelli was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, 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.

At Gettysburg College, Spinelli spent his time writing short stories and was the editor of the college literary magazine, The Mercury. 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.

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.

Spinelli graduated from Gettysburg College in 1963 and acquired his MA from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. In 1977, he married Eileen Mesi, another children's writer. Since about 1980, as Eileen Spinelli, she has collaborated with illustrators to create dozens of picture books. They have six children and 21 grandchildren.

Works

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 a

Jerry Spinelli (ur. 1 lutego1941 w Norristown w stanie Pensylwania) − amerykański pisarz, twórca literatury dziecięcej i młodzieżowej.

Ukończył studia licencjackie na Gettysburg College i magisterskie na Johns Hopkins University. Otrzymał nagrody literackie: Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award, Mark Twain Readers Award, Boston Globe – Horn Book Award, Golden Kite Award, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, Young Reader's Choice Award, Newbery Medal (za powieść Maniac Magee), California Young Reader Medal (za powieść There's a Girl in My Hammerlock), dwukrotnie Massachusetts Children's Book Award i Indian Paintbrush Book Award (za powieści Maniac Magee i Kraksa) oraz także dwukrotnie Young Reader's Choice Award (za powieści Maniac Magee i Loser). Jego książka Maniac Magee doczekała się również adaptacji filmowej.

W 1977 poślubił pisarkę Eileen Mesi. Para ma sześcioro dzieci i szesnaścioro wnucząt.

Dzieła

Powieści

Seria Space Station Seventh Grade

1. Space Station Seventh Grade (1982)
2. Jason and Marceline (1986)

• Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush? (1984)
• Night of the Whale (1985)
• Dump Days (1988)
• Maniac Magee (1990)
• The Bathwater Gang (1990)
• There's a Girl in My Hammerlock (1991)
• Book Cooks (1991)
• The Bathwater Gang Gets Down to Business (1992)
• Who Ran My Underwear Up the Flagpole? (1992)
• Report to the Principal's Office (1992)
• Do the Funky Pickle (1992)
• Picklemania (1993)
• Tooter Pepperday (1995)
• Crash (1996) (wyd. pol. Kraksa 2005)
• Wringer (1997)
• In My Own Words (1997)
• The Library Card (1997)
• Blue Ribbon Blues (1998)

Seria Stargirl

1. Stargirl (2000) (wyd. pol. Gwiazda 2004)
2. Love, Stargirl (2007)

• Loser (2002)
• The Mighty Crashman (2002)
• Milkweed (2003)
• Eggs (2007)
• Smiles to Go (2008)
• Jake and Lily (2012)

Seria Fourth Grade Rats

1. Th