Definitely share this with others

Spinelli's informal, exaggerative, storyteller style pulls young children immediately into Maniac's story. It's almost as though the audience is a newcomer who listens to town gossip by a town crier. What does the town crier relate? Well, Maniac is a poor, white boy who crosses the town's line to make friends with black children. But Maniac is not really the type of idealized racial mediator other books might try to use. Instead, Maniac really does not fit in any society, whether black or white, rich or poor, and his personality just does not seem to be the stereotypical boy next door. Yet he has exceptional qualities and a superhuman talent for running which transform Maniac into a legend. I think that is why the janitor for the baseball stadium adopts him, and why the family on the "other' side of town also adopts him. The interesting progression to the story is that a pitiful boy who seemed unwanted by society then becomes one society tries to include. The final inclusion of this boy ( or could it be the image of what he accomplished just by being himself?) into society is a permanent one, as a town legend.

Race and income seem easy vehicles for understanding what Mania accomplishes, just because American society has run into these topics in the past. Spinelli somehow feeds these issues to children in a very mild pill, for which he should be commended. As an educator, I believe that curriculum should try to encourage acceptance among all students of one another through daily interaction; books are another vehicle I find important for this purpose. Books give children the ability to think and reflect on what they have read for themselves. Books also give them the time to develop their own minds and identities, their moral fiber and compassion. Spinelli's book accomplishes that quite well. I love this book.

Though artfully crafted, I don't feel Spinelli's book was worth a Newbury Honor Medal. It's not as sophisticated and well written as the other Newbury books. My favorite Newbury book which deals with the subject of race is Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, whose sequel is Let the Circle Be Unbroken. I wish I could suggest books on class issues, but they do not enter my mind at this point.