It seems that Maniac has found a new home living in the equipment room at the park's band shell, but the unexpected death of the old man sends Maniac on the run and deep in despair.Ī chance encounter with two young runaways brings Maniac back to the West End of Two Mills and the dysfunctional McNab home. With patience and encouragement, Maniac begins to help the old man learn to read. As Grayson shares tales of his short-lived baseball career, he also reveals to Maniac that he cannot read. Grayson is a park worker, but Maniac quickly discovers that Grayson was once a pitcher in the minor leagues. When Earl Grayson discovers Maniac living in the buffalo pen at the Elmwood Park Zoo, he takes him into his care. Maniac seems to have found a warm, loving home at last, but there are some on the East End who do not want a white boy living among them.īecause he fears what might happen to the Beales, Maniac runs away again. He quickly befriends a black girl and soon finds himself invited to live with the Beales, a family on the East End. But Maniac, who is white, doesn't recognize the barrier. The white people live on the west side of Hector Street, and the black people live on the east side. School Library Journal all-time kid's novels.

Assoc. 'Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children”. Study Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli with our study guide and lesson plans! Newbery Medal Winner 1991, Horn Book, Carolyn Field, Charlotte, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Mark Twain Award, Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book, William Allen White, U.S. National Ed.

Maniac magee audio book