George, aka Suds, has just entered third grade, and he's heard the rhyme about first grade babies, second grade cats, third grade angels, fourth grade rats, but what does this mean for his school year? It means that his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every month to see which student deserves to be awarded the halo -- which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect.
Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but he's finding the challenge of always being good to be more stressful than he had anticipated. Does he have to be good even outside of school? (Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister?) And if Mrs. Simms doesn't actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count?
A warm, funny return to elementary school from master storyteller Spinelli.
Fourth graders are tough. They aren't afraid of spiders. They say no to their moms. They push first graders off the swings. And they never, ever cry.
Suds knows that now that he's in fourth grade, he's supposed to be a rat. But whenever he tries to act like one, something goes wrong. Can Suds's friend Joey teach him to toughen up... or will Suds remain a fourth grade wimp?
Now with brand-new illustrations, this sequel to Jerry Spinelli's Third Grade Angels is a classic story of fitting in (or not) and friendship.
The New York Times bestselling sequel to Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli's modern-day classic Stargirl, now an original film on Disney+!
And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!Love, Stargirl picks up a year after Stargirl ends and reveals the new life of the beloved character who moved away so suddenly at the end of Stargirl. The novel takes the form of the world's longest letter, in diary form, going from date to date through a little more than a year's time. In her writing, Stargirl mixes memories of her bittersweet time in Mica, Arizona, with involvements with new people in her life.
In Love, Stargirl, we hear the voice of Stargirl herself as she reflects on time, life, Leo, and - of course - love.
Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion. --The New York Times
From renowned Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli comes a powerful story about how not fitting in just might lead to an incredible life. This classic book is perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Carl Hiaasen.
Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like Jabip.
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become hero.
With some of his finest writing to date and great wit and humor, Jerry Spinelli creates a story about a boy's individuality surpassing the need to fit in and the genuine importance of failure. As readers follow Zinkoff from first through sixth grade, it becomes impossible not to identify with and root for him through failures and triumphs.
The perfect classroom read.
Newbery Honor Book * ALA Notable Children's Book
Deeply felt. Presents a moral question with great care and sensitivity. --The New York Times
A spellbinding story about rites of passage. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A realistic story with the intensity of a fable. --The Horn Book (starred review)
Thought-provoking. --School Library Journal (starred review)
In Palmer LaRue's hometown of Waymer, turning ten is the biggest event of a boy's life. But for Palmer, his tenth birthday is not something to look forward to but something to dread.
Then one day, a visitor appears on his windowsill, and Palmer knows that this, more than anything else, is a sign that his time is up. Somehow, he must learn how to stop being afraid and stand up for what he believes in.
Wringer is an unforgettable tour de force from Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli.
Ninth grader Will Tuppence is in control.
He plans everything obsessively, from the perfect stargazing night with his crush, Mi-Su, to the regular Saturday-night games of Monopoly with his friends. He's even planned his entire adulthood: career as an astronomer; mint condition, black 1985 Jaguar XJS/12; two kids. . . .
But everything changes the day Will learns one startling fact: protons--those tiny atomic particles, the building blocks to the building blocks of life--can die. The one thing that was so certain in this world to Will has an expiration date.
And Will's carefully planned-out life?
Not so certain, either.
Newbery Honor Book * ALA Notable Children's Book
Deeply felt. Presents a moral question with great care and sensitivity. --The New York Times
A spellbinding story about rites of passage. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A realistic story with the intensity of a fable. --The Horn Book (starred review)
Thought-provoking. --School Library Journal (starred review)
In Palmer LaRue's hometown of Waymer, turning ten is the biggest event of a boy's life. But for Palmer, his tenth birthday is not something to look forward to, but something to dread. Then one day, a visitor appears on his windowsill, and Palmer knows that this, more than anything else, is a sign that his time is up. Somehow, he must learn how to stop being afraid and stand up for what he believes in.
Wringer is a powerful tour de force from Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli.
Beloved Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, author of Maniac Magee and Wringer, addresses issues of identity, belonging, family, and bullying in this humorous and heartfelt novel about twins.
Jake and Lily are twins. Despite their slightly different interests and temperaments, they feel exactly the same--like two halves of one person.
But the year they turn eleven, everything changes. Their parents announce it's time for separate bedrooms. Jake starts hanging out with a pack of boys on the block. And Lily is devastated, not to mention angry. Who is she without Jake?
And as her brother falls under the influence of the neighborhood bully, he also must ask himself--who is the real Jake?
In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praised this smart and funny story. The New York Times Book Review extolled Jerry Spinelli as a poet of the prepubescent and added: Nobody is better than Spinelli when it comes to creating the grade-school world of qualified innocence--and treading a fine line between challenge and reassurance.