You've Got to Read This Book! Maniac Magee

Friday we had a professional development day and that included a little time to work on our own.  I decided to tidy up my classroom library and pull out Teacher Picks or Choice Books that are relevant to our study of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and other civil rights actions.  Then a book new to me caught my eye, and I decided to take it home to read.  I am currently in the middle of Counting Coup: Becoming Crow Chief On The Reservation And Beyond. by Joseph Medicine Crow. It was published in 2006 by National Geographic.  I am finding it really interesting.  It is written as a memoir and I look forward to telling you more about it later!

In the meantime, I have another book to recommend:

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Title: Maniac Magee
Genre: Realistic Fiction
What I like about this book: This is a really touching story with lots of comic relief.  It deals with a poor kid.  Well, a homeless kid without anything "normal" by traditional middle-class-reflecting fiction books.  I really appreciated that aspect of this book.  I think the way the book deals with race (a white boy from the city bridges a gap in the relations between the white and black population) is a bit naive, but I think it helps put a seed in the minds of readers towards a more inclusive viewpoint.  As a farm girl, I especially enjoyed getting a better view of the pressures and potentials of life in an urban environment.  It was hard to put down!

This book was recommended to me by a marvelous 6th grade teacher.   I would recommend this book to 5th-8th grade students.  As a Newberry Medal winner, I think it has a lot to offer readers!