Fantasy Books 24

Jerry Spinelli is a Newberry Award winning author who is best known for writing Maniac Magee and Stargirl. He writes children’s novels that focus on the period around adolescence and adulthood.

Spinelli got a great start in writing as when he was 16 his school’s football team got a huge victory. Instead of going out and celebrating, he went home and composed a poem about the game. His father liked it so much that he got it published in the local paper which helped to inspire him to become a writer in his future. He attended Gettysburg College where he wrote short stories and worked as editor for the college literary magazine. It took him a few years after graduation to get published as numerous adult novels he wrote were rejected, but his fifth novel was Space Station Seventh Grade and he became published in 1982.

Publication Order of Space Station Seventh Grade Books