Transcript 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
 Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania - February 1, 1941
 Excelled in reading comics, cereal boxes and the sports
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“In sixth grade I was a big fan of
Bug’s Bunny comics, it was the thing
to read.”
~ J. Spinelli
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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.
“…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:
“My stories are not for kids, they’re about kids…I let
my stories find their own audiences…”
~J. Spinelli
"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.
“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
Adults
Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2000
Children’s Media Honor Book
Parents’ Choice 2000 Fiction Gold Award
NAIBA Book Award for Children’s Literature
New York Times Best Seller List
Newberry Medal Award Winner
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award
California Young Readers Medal
Reader’s Choice Award
Golden Kite Award
Milner Award
Mark Twain Award
Newberry 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-JerrySpinelli.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