Books by Jerry Spinelli
Loser
From renowned Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli comes a powerful story about how not fitting in just might lead to an incredible life. This classic book is perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Carl Hiaasen.
Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like "Jabip."
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become "hero."
With some of his finest writing to date and great wit and humor, Jerry Spinelli creates a story about a boy's individuality surpassing the need to fit in and the genuine importance of failure. As readers follow Zinkoff from first through sixth grade, it becomes impossible not to identify with and root for him through failures and triumphs.
The perfect classroom read.
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Wringer: A Newbery Honor Award Winner
Newbery Honor Book * ALA Notable Children's Book
"Deeply felt. Presents a moral question with great care and sensitivity." —The New York Times
"A spellbinding story about rites of passage." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A realistic story with the intensity of a fable." —The Horn Book (starred review)
"Thought-provoking." —School Library Journal (starred review)
In Palmer LaRue's hometown of Waymer, turning ten is the biggest event of a boy's life. But for Palmer, his tenth birthday is not something to look forward to, but something to dread. Then one day, a visitor appears on his windowsill, and Palmer knows that this, more than anything else, is a sign that his time is up. Somehow, he must learn how to stop being afraid and stand up for what he believes in.
Wringer is a powerful tour de force from Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli.
Copies
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Maniac Magee (Newbery Medal Winner)
A Newbery Medal winning modern classic about a racially divided small town and a boy who runs.
Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.
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Hokey Pokey
Welcome to Hokey Pokey. A place and a time, when childhood is at its best: games to play, bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen—and by a girl, no less—his entire world, and the world of Hokey Pokey, turns to chaos. Without his bike, Jack feels like everything has started to go wrong. He feels different, not like himself, and he knows something is about to change. And even more troubling he alone hears a faint train whistle. But that's impossible: every kid knows there no trains in Hokey Pokey, only tracks.
Master storyteller Jerry Spinelli has written a dizzingly inventive fable of growing up and letting go, of leaving childhood and its imagination play behind for the more dazzling adventures of adolescence, and of learning to accept not only the sunny part of day, but the unwelcome arrival of night, as well.
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Hokey Pokey
Welcome to Hokey Pokey. A place and a time, when childhood is at its best: games to play, bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen—and by a girl, no less—his entire world, and the world of Hokey Pokey, turns to chaos. Without his bike, Jack feels like everything has started to go wrong. He feels different, not like himself, and he knows something is about to change. And even more troubling he alone hears a faint train whistle. But that's impossible: every kid knows there no trains in Hokey Pokey, only tracks.
Master storyteller Jerry Spinelli has written a dizzingly inventive fable of growing up and letting go, of leaving childhood and its imagination play behind for the more dazzling adventures of adolescence, and of learning to accept not only the sunny part of day, but the unwelcome arrival of night, as well.
Copies
No copies available.
Stargirl (Stargirl Series)
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A modern-day classic from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, this beloved celebration of individuality is now an original movie on Disney+!
And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
Don’t miss the sequel, Love, Stargirl, as well as The Warden’s Daughter, a novel about another girl who can't help but stand out.
“Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times
Copies
No copies available.
Stargirl (Stargirl Series)
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A modern-day classic from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, this beloved celebration of individuality is now an original movie on Disney+!
And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
Don’t miss the sequel, Love, Stargirl, as well as The Warden’s Daughter, a novel about another girl who can't help but stand out.
“Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times
Copies
No copies available.
Stargirl (Stargirl Series)
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A modern-day classic from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, this beloved celebration of individuality is now an original movie on Disney+!
And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
Don’t miss the sequel, Love, Stargirl, as well as The Warden’s Daughter, a novel about another girl who can't help but stand out.
“Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times
Copies
No copies available.
Crash
by Jerry Spinelli, J. G. Ballard
Now available in paperback, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli's hilarious, poignant story of cocky seventh-grade superjock Crash Coogan.
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Crash
by Jerry Spinelli, J. G. Ballard
In this hallucinatory novel, an automobile provides the hellish tableau in which Vaughan, a "TV scientist" turned "nightmare angel of the highways," experiments with erotic atrocities among auto crash victims, each more sinister than the last. James Ballard, his friend and fellow obsessive, tells the story of this twisted visionary as he careens rapidly toward his own demise in an internationally orchestrated car crash with Elizabeth Taylor.
A classic work of cutting-edge fiction, Crash explores both the disturbing implications and horrific possibilities of contemporary society's increasing dependence on technology as intermediary in human relations.
Copies
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Crash
by Jerry Spinelli, J. G. Ballard
Take a look behind the bully in this modern classic from Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli that packs a punch. And don't miss the highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday.
Cocky seventh-grade super-jock Crash Coogan got his nickname the day he used his first football helmet to knock his cousin Bridget flat on her backside. And he has been running over people ever since, especially Penn Webb, the dweeby, vegetarian Quaker kid who lives down the block. Through the eyes of Crash, readers get a rare glimpse into the life of a bully in this unforgettable and beloved story about stereotypes and the surprises life can bring.
"Readers will devour this humorous glimpse of what jocks are made of." --School Library Journal, starred review
Copies
No copies available.
Crash
by Jerry Spinelli, J. G. Ballard
Take a look behind the bully in this modern classic from Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli that packs a punch. And don't miss the highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday.
Cocky seventh-grade super-jock Crash Coogan got his nickname the day he used his first football helmet to knock his cousin Bridget flat on her backside. And he has been running over people ever since, especially Penn Webb, the dweeby, vegetarian Quaker kid who lives down the block. Through the eyes of Crash, readers get a rare glimpse into the life of a bully in this unforgettable and beloved story about stereotypes and the surprises life can bring.
"Readers will devour this humorous glimpse of what jocks are made of." --School Library Journal, starred review
Copies
No copies available.
Milkweed
A stunning novel of the Holocaust from Newbery Medalist, Jerry Spinelli. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Filthy son of Abraham.
He's a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He's a boy who steals food for himself, and the other orphans. He's a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels.
He's a boy who wants to be a Nazi, with tall, shiny jackboots of his own-until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind.
And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable-Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II-and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young Holocaust orphan.
Copies
No copies available.
Milkweed
He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
Copies
No copies available.
Tooter Pepperday (Stepping Stone, paper)
A charming rural romp chapter book from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new middle grade novel, Dead Wednesday!
The Pepperday family is moving to Aunt Sally’s farm. Mr. Pepperday, Mrs. Pepperday, and Chuckie Pepperday are happy as hogs in slop. But Tooter Pepperday is not. There’s no cable TV, no playground, and she’s gone three days without pizza! What does a girl have to do to show her family she’ll never get used to life on the farm?
Copies
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Smiles to Go
What is stargazer, skateboarder, chess champ, pepperoni pizza eater, older brother, sister hater, best friend, first kisser, science geek, control freak Will Tuppence so afraid of in this great big universe?
Jerry Spinelli knows.
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Smiles to Go
Ninth grader Will Tuppence is in control.
He plans everything obsessively, from the perfect stargazing night with his crush, Mi-Su, to the regular Saturday-night games of Monopoly with his friends. He's even planned his entire adulthood: career as an astronomer; mint condition, black 1985 Jaguar XJS/12; two kids. . . .
But everything changes the day Will learns one startling fact: protons—those tiny atomic particles, the building blocks to the building blocks of life—can die. The one thing that was so certain in this world to Will has an expiration date.
And Will's carefully planned-out life?
Not so certain, either.
Copies
No copies available.
Jake and Lily
Beloved Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, author of Maniac Magee and Wringer, addresses issues of identity, belonging, family, and bullying in this humorous and heartfelt novel about twins.
Jake and Lily are twins. Despite their slightly different interests and temperaments, they feel exactly the same—like two halves of one person. But the year they turn eleven, everything changes. Their parents announce it’s time for separate bedrooms. Jake starts hanging out with a pack of boys on the block. And Lily is devastated, not to mention angry. Who is she without Jake? And as her brother falls under the influence of the neighborhood bully, he also must ask himself—who is the real Jake?
This is an often funny, poignant, and profound story of growing up, growing apart, and the difficult process of figuring out who you really are.
Copies
No copies available.
Jake and Lily
Beloved Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, author of Maniac Magee and Wringer, addresses issues of identity, belonging, family, and bullying in this humorous and heartfelt novel about twins.
Jake and Lily are twins. Despite their slightly different interests and temperaments, they feel exactly the same—like two halves of one person.
But the year they turn eleven, everything changes. Their parents announce it’s time for separate bedrooms. Jake starts hanging out with a pack of boys on the block. And Lily is devastated, not to mention angry. Who is she without Jake?
And as her brother falls under the influence of the neighborhood bully, he also must ask himself—who is the real Jake?
In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praised this "smart and funny story." The New York Times Book Review extolled Jerry Spinelli as "a poet of the prepubescent" and added: "Nobody is better than Spinelli when it comes to creating the grade-school world of qualified innocence—and treading a fine line between challenge and reassurance.”
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wringer
Newbery Honor Book * ALA Notable Children's Book
"Deeply felt. Presents a moral question with great care and sensitivity." —The New York Times
"A spellbinding story about rites of passage." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A realistic story with the intensity of a fable." —The Horn Book (starred review)
"Thought-provoking." —School Library Journal (starred review)
In Palmer LaRue's hometown of Waymer, turning ten is the biggest event of a boy's life. But for Palmer, his tenth birthday is not something to look forward to but something to dread.
Then one day, a visitor appears on his windowsill, and Palmer knows that this, more than anything else, is a sign that his time is up. Somehow, he must learn how to stop being afraid and stand up for what he believes in.
Wringer is an unforgettable tour de force from Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli.
Copies
No copies available.
Eggs
by Jerry Spinelli, Michel Roux
The egg is the simplest and most complete food, highly nutritious and versatile enough for the quickest of meals or the smartest of dinner parties. It’s also a favorite of pâtissiers and dessert chefs. Michael Roux--for many years a chef at the top of his profession and a global traveler with a passion for different cuisines--is the ideal author to take a new look at one of the oldest foods of all.
Each chapter is based around a style of cooking eggs, from boiling, frying ,poaching, baking and scrambling, to making the perfect omelet, crêpe, soufflé, meringue and custard. Classic recipes such as Hollandaise Sauce, Eggs Benedict and Lemon Soufflé are given a modern twist, while Michel’s original recipes boast new combinations of flavors or a lighter, simpler style of cooking. Illustrated with 150 stunning photographs and designed in a clear, modern, easy-to-follow style, Eggs is set to become a classic.
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Eggs
by Jerry Spinelli, Michel Roux
Nine-year-old David has recently lost his mother to a freak accident, his salesman father is constantly on the road, and he is letting his anger out on his grandmother. Sarcastic and bossy 13-year-old Primrose lives with her childlike, fortuneteller mother, and a framed picture is the only evidence of the father she never knew. Despite their differences, David and Primrose forge a tight yet tumultuous friendship, eventually helping each other deal with what is missing in their lives. This powerful, quirky novel about two very complicated, damaged children has much to say about friendship, loss, and recovery.
Copies
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Eggs
by Jerry Spinelli, Michel Roux
Eggs is a quirky and moving novel about two very complicated, damaged children. David has recently lost his mother to a freak accident, his salesman father is constantly on the road, and he is letting his anger out on his grandmother. Primrose lives with her unstable, childlike, fortuneteller mother, and the only evidence of the father she never knew is a framed picture. Despite their age difference (David is 9, Primrose is 13), they forge a tight yet tumultuous friendship, eventually helping each other deal with what is missing in their lives.
Copies
No copies available.
Eggs
by Jerry Spinelli, Michel Roux
There are over 76 billion eggs sold and eaten in the US every year. The egg is the simplest and most complete food - versatile enough for the quickest of meals to the smartest of dinner parties and the favorite of patissiers and dessert chefs. With more than 30 years experience as a chef at the top of his profession Michel Roux has garnered a vast wealth of culinary knowledge and expertise. Trained in the classic French style, but an inveterate global traveller with a passion for different cuisines, Michel uses all of his skill and experience to take a new look at one of the oldest foods of all. This new edition of a bookshelf staple is illustrated throughout with stunning photographs by award-winning photographer Martin Brigdale and contains a compilation of the best 100 egg recipes. Each chapter is arranged around a style of cooking eggs from boiling, frying, poaching, baking and scrambling, and shows you how to make the perfect omelet, mousse, soufflé, and custard. There are classic egg recipes given a modern twist, alongside new dishes which boast new combinations of flavors or a lighter, simpler style of cooking.
Copies
No copies available.
Love, Stargirl
The New York Times bestselling sequel to Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli’s modern-day classic Stargirl!
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. The novel takes the form of "the world's longest letter," in diary form, going from date to date through a little more than a year's time. In her writing, Stargirl mixes memories of her bittersweet time in Mica, Arizona, with involvements with new people in her life.
In Love, Stargirl, we hear the voice of Stargirl herself as she reflects on time, life, Leo, and - of course - love.
Don’t miss Jerry Spinelli’s latest novel, The Warden’s Daughter, about another girl who can't help but stand out.
“Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times
Copies
No copies available.
The Warden's Daughter
From Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli (Maniac Magee, Stargirl) comes the "moving and memorable" (Kirkus Reviews, starred) story of a girl searching for happiness inside the walls of a prison.
Cammie O'Reilly lives at the Hancock County Prison--not as a prisoner, she's the warden's daughter. She spends the mornings hanging out with shoplifters and reformed arsonists in the women's excercise yard, which gives Cammie a certain cache with her school friends.
But even though Cammie's free to leave the prison, she's still stuck. And sad, and really mad. Her mother died saving her from harm when she was just a baby. You wouldn't think you could miss something you never had, but on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, the thing Cammie most wants is a mom. A prison might not be the best place to search for a mother, but Cammie is determined and she's willing to work with what she's got.
"Jerry Spinelli again proves why he's the king of storytellers" (Shelf Awarenss, starred) in this tale of a girl who learns that heroes can come in surprising disguises, and that even if we don't always get what we want, sometimes we really do get what we need.
"This book is never boring and never predictable. Fame, good and bad fortune, friendship and mental illness all make their way into [Cammie's] narrative."—The New York Times Book Review
Praise for the works of Jerry Spinelli:
“Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times
“It's almost unreal how much the children's book still resonates.” —Bustle.com on Maniac Magee
Copies
No copies available.
The Warden's Daughter
From Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli comes the story of a girl searching for happiness inside the walls of a prison. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
Cammie O'Reilly lives at the Hancock County Prison--not as a prisoner, she's the warden's daughter. She spends the mornings hanging out with shoplifters and reformed arsonists in the women's excercise yard, which gives Cammie a certain cache with her school friends.
But even though Cammie's free to leave the prison, she's still stuck. And sad, and really mad. Her mother died saving her from harm when she was just a baby. You wouldn't think you could miss something you never had, but on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, the thing Cammie most wants is a mom. A prison might not be the best place to search for a mother, but Cammie is determined and she's willing to work with what she's got.
"A tapestry of grief and redemption, woven by a master storyteller ....Moving and memorable." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
Copies
No copies available.
Today I Will: A Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself
by Jerry Spinelli, Eileen Spinelli
Reassuring advice for every day of the year
From an esteemed husband-and-wife team comes a book of daily advice and insight. In dated entries meant to be read one per day, the Spinellis open with a brief quote from children’s literature, write a paragraph of lively advice inspired by that quote, and end with a “Today I will . . .” promise. The entries range from the broad (self-esteem, the environment, gratitude, and openmindedness) to the simple and specific (Today I will call a grandparent . . . smile at a new kid . . . take a walk . . . and send a snail-mail letter.).
With wide appeal to fans of both children’s literature and advice books, this cozy page-a-day volume (with black-and-white spot art) offers inspiring quotes, gentle guidance, and 366 “Today I will . . .” promises to thoughtful readers everywhere.
Copies
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Stargirl Journal
FOR EVERY STARGIRL fan, here's an inviting diary: 160 journal pages, each decorated with a quote from Stargirl or Love, Stargirl.
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Stargirl paperback/Love, Stargirl paperback Boxed Set with Free Stargirl Journal
Three stars in one beautiful boxed set: Stargirl + Love, Stargirl + a Stargirl Journal (free!).
Jerry Spinelli’s novel Stargirl, published in 2000, became an instant bestseller, beloved for its nonconformist heroine with a heart of gold. With over 1.4 million copies in print in North America alone and licenses in 27 languages, it's gone on to become an international hit. The acclaimed companion novel, Love, Stargirl, was published in 2007 and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller. We're pleased to offer trade paperback editions of both novels--as well as a bonus free copy of the write-in Stargirl Journal--in this eye-popping new boxed set.
Copies
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Milkweed (Random House Reader's Circle)
A stunning novel of the Holocaust from Newbery Medalist, Jerry Spinelli. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Filthy son of Abraham.
He's a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He's a boy who steals food for himself, and the other orphans. He's a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels.
He's a boy who wants to be a Nazi, with tall, shiny jackboots of his own-until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind.
And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable-Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II-and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young Holocaust orphan.
Copies
No copies available.
Love, Stargirl (Stargirl Series)
The New York Times bestselling sequel to Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli’s modern-day classic Stargirl, now an original film on Disney+!
And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
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. The novel takes the form of "the world's longest letter," in diary form, going from date to date through a little more than a year's time. In her writing, Stargirl mixes memories of her bittersweet time in Mica, Arizona, with involvements with new people in her life.
In Love, Stargirl, we hear the voice of Stargirl herself as she reflects on time, life, Leo, and - of course - love.
“Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times
Copies
No copies available.
Library Card (After Words)
Mongoose, Brenda, Sonseray, and April have nothing in common...until a mysterious blue card appears as if by magic and begins to change each of their lives. None of them guesses it at first, but that strange blue card will be their ticket to the past--and to a future that they never imagined. In stories that range from humorous to heartbreaking, Newbery-award-winner Jerry Spinelli reveals the amazing possibilities lurking behind library doors.
Copies
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Third Grade Angels
The long-awaited prequel to the bestseller FOURTH GRADE RATS
George, aka "Suds," has just entered third grade, and he's heard the rhyme about "first grade babies/second grade cats/third grade angels/fourth grade rats," but what does this mean for his school year? It means that his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every month to see which student deserves to be awarded "the halo" - which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect. Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but he's finding the challenge of always being good to be more stressful than he had anticipated. Does he have to be good even outside of school? (Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister?) And if Mrs. Simms doesn't actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count?
A warm, funny return to elementary school from master storyteller Spinelli.
Copies
No copies available.
Third Grade Angels
The long-awaited prequel to the bestseller FOURTH GRADE RATS
George, aka "Suds," has just entered third grade, and he's heard the rhyme about "first grade babies/second grade cats/third grade angels/fourth grade rats," but what does this mean for his school year? It means that his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every month to see which student deserves to be awarded "the halo" - which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect. Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but he's finding the challenge of always being good to be more stressful than he had anticipated. Does he have to be good even outside of school? (Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister?) And if Mrs. Simms doesn't actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count?A warm, funny return to elementary school from master storyteller Spinelli.
Copies
No copies available.
Fourth Grade Rats
Last year Suds was a Third Grade Angel, but now... it's time to be a Fourth Grade Rat!
Fourth graders are tough. They aren't afraid of spiders. They say no to their moms. They push first graders off the swings. And they never, ever cry.Suds knows that now he's in fourth grade, he's supposed to be a rat. But whenever he tries to act like one, something goes wrong. Can Suds's friend Joey teach him to toughen up... or will Suds remain a fourth grade wimp?Now with brand-new illustrations, this sequel to Jerry Spinelli's THIRD GRADE ANGELS is a classic story of fitting in (or not) and friendship.
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My Daddy and Me: A Book for Dads and Kids
This Father's Day show dad how much you care with this gift-book celebrating the moments you share!
I can't wait for my daddy to come home from work. There are so many things to do!
In a loving tribute to fathers and sons, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli and New Yorker artist Seymour Chwast join talents to celebrate the very best moment of the day: when daddy comes home.
Copies
No copies available.
Stargirl Movie Tie-In Edition (Stargirl Series)
This beloved celebration of individuality is now an original movie on Disney+!
A modern-day classic and New York Times bestseller from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl, Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock' s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
"Spinelli has produced a poetic allegorical tale about the magnificence and rarity of true nonconformity." -- The New York Times
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Dead Wednesday
Can playing dead bring you back to life? Maybe on Dead Wednesday… On this day the worlds of a shy boy and a gone girl collide, and the connection they make will change them both forever. A brilliant new novel from the Newbery Medal winner and author of the New York Times bestseller Stargirl.
"Jerry Spinelli has created another middle grade masterpiece." —BookPage, starred review
On Dead Wednesday, every eighth grader in Amber Springs is assigned the name and identity of a teenager who died a preventable death in the past year. The kids don black shirts and for the whole day everyone in town pretends they're invisible—as if they weren't even there. The adults think it will make them contemplate their mortality. The kids know it's a free pass to get away with anything.
Worm Tarnauer feels invisible every day. He's perfectly happy being the unnoticed sidekick of his friend Eddie. So he's not expecting Dead Wednesday to feel that different. But he didn't count on being assigned Becca Finch (17, car crash). And he certainly didn't count on Becca showing up to boss him around! Letting this girl into his head is about to change everything.
This is the story of the unexpected, heartbreaking, hilarious, truly epic day when Worm Tarnauer discovers his own life.
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Knots in My Yo-Yo String
Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli has penned his early autobiography with all the warmth, humor, and drama of his best-selling fiction. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!
"A master of those embarrassing, gloppy, painful, and suddenly wonderful things that happen on the razor's edge between childhood and full-fledged adolescence" --The Washington Post
From first memories through high school, including first kiss, first punch, first trip to the principal's office, and first humiliating sports experience, this is not merely an account of a highly unusual childhood. Rather, like Spinelli's fiction, its appeal lies in the accessibility and universality of his life. Entertaining and fast-paced, this is a highly readable memoir-- a must-have for Spinelli fans of all ages.
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My Fourth of July
Picnics! Singing! Fireworks! It's time to celebrate the best day of all--the Fourth of July!
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli and award-winning illustrator Larry Day join forces to celebrate America's birthday, the Fourth of July.
A responsible little boy who's eager to do his part wakes up joyful and ready to celebrate his favorite day of all. But there's a lot of work to do--pies to be baked, deviled eggs to be filled--and the boy has lots of jobs to complete before he can enjoy the fun . . . the world's best picnic! Face painting! A band concert!
And then, after what seems like the longest wait ever . . . he can kick back and enjoy the fireworks with the rest of the country.
This delicious and spirited book celebrates small town America and is full of nostalgia for times gone by, yet absolutely of the moment.
Copies
No copies available.
My Fourth of July
Picnics! Singing! Fireworks! It's time to celebrate the best day of all--the Fourth of July!
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli and award-winning illustrator Larry Day join forces to celebrate America's birthday, the Fourth of July.
A responsible little boy who's eager to do his part wakes up joyful and ready to celebrate his favorite day of all. But there's a lot of work to do--pies to be baked, deviled eggs to be filled--and the boy has lots of jobs to complete before he can enjoy the fun . . . the world's best picnic! Face painting! A band concert!
And then, after what seems like the longest wait ever . . . he can kick back and enjoy the fireworks with the rest of the country.
This delicious and spirited book celebrates small town America and is full of nostalgia for times gone by, yet absolutely of the moment.
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$8.99
There's a Girl in My Hammerlock
I'LL START WITH SIMETHING THAT MAY SURPRISE YOU. WHAT I REALLY WANTED IN JUNIOR HIGH WAS TO BE A CHEERLEADER. IF I HAD MADE IT, ALL THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED....
Maisie Potter isn't quite sure why she signed up for the boys' wrestling team. She's never been all that interested in boys, so it can't have anything to do with Eric Delong, in spite of the disturbing effect his smile has on her. And she's certainly not prepared for the effect her presence on the team has on the people around her.
Her brother's totally disgusted with her, her best friend drops her, her classmates ridicule her, and opposing teams forfeit rather than wrestle her. But Maisie's not a quitter, and she discovers that she really likes wrestling -- and that while Eric might not be worth the flak she puts up with, feeling good about herself is.
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I Can Be Anything!
Explore all of life's possibilities in this exuberant book by Newbery Award winning author Jerry Spinelli -- a perfect gift for new parents, graduates, and more!
A little boy contemplates the interesting and exciting things he could be when he grows up: everything from a paper plane folder to a puppy dog holder, from a baby sis soother to a snowball smoother.
Newbery Award-winning author Jerry Spinelli's simple and charming rhymes are accompanied by internationally renowned illustrator Jimmy Liao's vibrant and fantastical illustrations. Now available in board book format, this imaginative joyride about hopes and dreams, and all the things that life has to offer, makes a fantastic gift.
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Space Station Seventh Grade
Now a seventh grader, Jason finds out the hard way just how different things are where ninth graders are the kings.
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