Jerry Spinelli

“Whom do I write for? I write for the story. Each story, it seems to me, knows best how it should be told. As I once put my ear to the

railroad track, I listen now for the voice of my story.” ~J.

Spinelli

BIOGRAPHY

“In sixth grade I was a big fan of Bug’s Bunny comics, it was the thing to read.” ~ J. Spinelli

Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania - February 1, 1941 Excelled in reading comics, cereal boxes and the sports

section of the newspaper Dreamed of becoming a cowboy when he grew up Loved sports As a teenager, he aspired to become a professional

baseball player 16 years old – wrote a poem that was published in the

local newspaper Attended Gettysburg College & John Hopkins University After college, served six months on active duty with the

U.S. Naval Air Reserves Worked as an editor for a department store magazine for

over 20 years Jerry and his wife, Eileen who is also a writer, have six

children and 16 grandchildren Initially wrote 4 adult novels over a 13 year span that

never got published In 1982, at the age of 39, he finally published his first

book, his fifth novel - Space Station Seventh Grade Won a Newbery Medal in 1991, the highest honor in

children’s literature, for Maniac Magee In 2000, received an honorary Doctor of Literature Degree

from Western Maryland College Has published 25 books including an autobiography titled,

My Yo-Yo String

Where does he get ideas for writing?

Jerry Spinelli has become well known, not only for his humor, but for writing about such hard-hitting topics as racism and peer pressure. He gets most of his writing inspiration from life, both his own and

those around him. Spinelli often uses memories from his childhood, as well as, his children and grandchildren to help him create storylines and characters. “Our kids triggered memories of my own childhood, of the old days growing up in Norristown. John Ribble’s blazing fast ball. Mrs. Seeton’s whistle calling her kids home to dinner. Dovey Wilmoth, so beautiful that a fleet of boys pedaled bikes past her house ten times a day. The creek, the tracks, the dump, the red hills. These memories became a library where I do much of my research.”

~J. Spinelli

How it all started…In 1957, while Norristown was celebrating the victory of an intense football battle, sixteen-year-old Spinelli was at home, writing a poem about the event. He titled the short piece “Goal to Go” (click title to read the poem), gave it to his father to read, and then forgot about it. Louis Spinelli recognized his son’s potential and submitted the poem to the Norristown Times-Herald. About a week later, to Jerry Spinelli’s surprise, “Goal to Go” graced the front page of the sports section. The community loved the poem and praised Spinelli. It was the start of his writing career.

“Little did I know that twenty-five years would pass before a book of

mine would be published.”

“…and then I wrote a book about a kid and some chicken bones...”Early one summer morning I opened the refrigerator to get the fried chicken I had left there the night before. I had left the chicken in a bag. Five pieces. I planned to take them to work for my lunch that day.

Well, the bag was still there, and so was the chicken. Chicken bones, that is. It seems that one of our angels sleeping upstairs had had a little snack the night before.

At lunchtime that day, instead of picking up a drumstick, I picked up a pencil and I started to write:

"One by one my stepfather took the chicken bones out of the bag and laid them on the kitchen table. He laid them down real neat. In a row. Five of them. Two leg bones, two wing bones, one thigh bone. And bones is all they were. There wasn’t a speck of meat on them. "Was this really happening? Did my stepfather really drag me out of bed at seven o’clock in the morning on my summer vacation so I could stand in the kitchen in my underpants and stare down at a row of chicken bones?"

Little did I know that I was beginning to write my fifth novel. With one big difference—this one would be published. It was called Space Station Seventh Grade.

“My stories are not for kids, they’re about kids…I let my stories find their own audiences…” ~J. Spinelli

“Life is Full of Happy Accidents”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utElvVRZA_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv8uUevERTE

~Click on links to watch videos~

Books & Awards

American Library Top 10 Best Books for Young AdultsPublisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2000Children’s Media Honor BookParents’ Choice 2000 Fiction Gold AwardNAIBA Book Award for Children’s LiteratureNew York Times Best Seller ListNewberry Medal Award WinnerDorothy Canfield Fisher AwardCalifornia Young Readers MedalReader’s Choice AwardGolden Kite AwardMilner AwardMark Twain AwardNewberry Honor Book Award

Want to learn more about Jerry Spinelli???

Check it out:http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_001.htm

http://www.clickinks.com/Clickinks-Biographies-The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Jerry-Spinelli.html

http://www.debbimichikoflorence.com/author_interviews/2002/JerrySpinelli.html

http://www.patriciamnewman.com/spinelli.html

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/12696.Jerry_Spinelli

http://www.biblio.com/jerry-spinelli~127847~author