Maniac Magee

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Publisher: Little Brown

Published: 1990

Brief Description

Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee becomes an orphan from his parents dying in a trolley accident and after living with his aunt and uncle for many unhappy years, he decides to run. Through his running, he changes the lives of a racially divided small town from his legendary feats.

This would be a great book to integrate into my classroom because it exemplifies challenge, hardship, and most importantly courage. The book dives into the expression of thoughts, feelings, and emotions through the character developmental of Maniac Magee, along with those that impact him. Although the extremes that Maniac overcomes throughout the story are most likely un-relatable to a majority of children, there is still connection in seeking happiness, taking action on what you believe in, and the ability to remain a mentally healthy person through difficultly.

Integration into Core Curriculum

 This book would be a great story to read aloud to the whole fifth grade class for many reasons. The first is that it deals heavily with kindness, generosity, and courage in a racial context. Due to the fact that there is a racial context, this book fits in with studying the history of race, more generally with American history. There are countless themes and messages that can be extracted from the pages of this book.

In terms of relating it back to the health curriculum, I would do linking activities through history, art, and literacy. An example of a potential link activity would to be to have the students identify the characteristics of Maniac and determine whether or not he is an emotionally healthy person. Tracking his mental health throughout the story would not only give students the opportunity to write and draw, but would further exemplify the emotional toll that racial divide has on an individual. Furthermore, the themes of the story could be discovered on a deeper level through evaluation of Maniac’s impulse-control strategies. Students could write a letter to Maniac Magee expressing their thoughts and ideas for Maniac.

Common Core State Standards 

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3
  • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.E
  • Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

NHES Standards

• NHES 1: Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
  • MEH1.5.1 Identify the characteristics of a mentally and emotionally healthy person
    • HBO 1: Express feelings in a healthy way.
    • HBO 2: Engage in activities that are mentally and emotionally healthy.
  • MEH1.5.5 Describe appropriate ways to express and deal with emotions.
    • HBO 4: Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
    • HBO 5: Use self-control and impulse-control strategies to promote health.