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vera_the_waffle's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Includes a little kissing
crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderful picture of the childhood of Jerry Spinelli. Nostalgia is everywhere and you can easily see where he got many of his ideas for Maniac Magee. Lots of fun.
whisperedaria's review against another edition
5.0
This book can really show students that anything can be fodder for writing! Jerry Spinelli really shows connections between his life and his books, which can also be great for connecting to some of his books, and for comprehension questions.
allen_h's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not sure why I put off reading this book for so long. Maybe it was because when I think of Jerry Spinelli books, I think of fiction not non-fiction.
Reading this after reading several of his other books is so cool, because you see where some of his locations and characters come from.
As a teacher, the chapter titled God and Garfield Shainline really stuck out to me. If book chapters were given stars, this chapter could be a constellation.
Reading this after reading several of his other books is so cool, because you see where some of his locations and characters come from.
As a teacher, the chapter titled God and Garfield Shainline really stuck out to me. If book chapters were given stars, this chapter could be a constellation.
yoyology's review against another edition
3.0
Given the title, it's amazing I waited this long to read Spinelli's childhood memoir. It started out slow, but picked up well enough.
lila_books's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
emrsalgado's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting to compare how Spinelli grew up compared to our kids. Not that I don't realize how much less freedom our kids have, but his day long wandering and activities really put it into relief.
booksandbosox's review against another edition
4.0
Jerry Spinelli, the popular and award-winning children's book author, recounts the story of his life through this engaging and charming autobiography.
I pretty much adore Spinelli. His writing style is so simple, so easily accessible to kids and yet there are times when his prose is just dripping with beauty. His turns of phrase sometimes are pure poetry. This is pretty much straightforward autobiography but I love that he presents it as a series of vignettes, snapshots of his life. I think this is further proof of how conscious he is of writing for a young audience. Very well-done.
I pretty much adore Spinelli. His writing style is so simple, so easily accessible to kids and yet there are times when his prose is just dripping with beauty. His turns of phrase sometimes are pure poetry. This is pretty much straightforward autobiography but I love that he presents it as a series of vignettes, snapshots of his life. I think this is further proof of how conscious he is of writing for a young audience. Very well-done.