Books with author Jerry Spinelli

Leo Borlock follows the unspoken rule at Mica Area High School: don't stand out—under any circumstances! Then Stargirl arrives at Mica High and everything changes—for Leo and for the entire school. After 15 years of home schooling, Stargirl bursts into tenth grade in an explosion of color and a clatter of ukulele music, enchanting the Mica student body. But the delicate scales of popularity suddenly shift, and Stargirl is shunned for everything that makes her different. Somewhere in the midst of Stargirl's arrival and rise and fall, normal Leo Borlock has tumbled into love with her. In a celebration of nonconformity, Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity—and the thrill and inspiration of first love. In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.

A fast, fun, friendship read from the Newbery-award winning author of Maniac Magee.Eddie Mott has a problem. He is completely and hopelessly in love with his friend Sunny...and he's way too wimpy to tell her. But the school dance is approaching quickly and Eddie knows it's time to act. He has to find a way to make Sunny notice him...but how? Eddie and Pickles come up with a plan that's sure to attract attention. But the girl who falls for Eddie at the dance isn't Sunny--it's Angelpuss, the girlfriend of the toughest, meanest eighth grader around. Eddie is in big, big trouble--unless he and Pickles can come up with some new moves...fast.

The long-awaited prequel to the bestseller FOURTH GRADE RATSGeorge, 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.

A fast, fun friendship read from the Newbery-award winning author of Maniac Magee.It's football season at Plumstead Middle School, and everything is up in the air. Sunny has become a cheerleader--the first ever to wear a frown and beat up fans who refuse to cheer. Eddie has gone out for football to prove that he's grown up despite his superhero underwear--and to try to impress a certain cheerleader. Salem has become the football team's manager, and she's starting a new time-out tradition that the team will never forget. And Pickles is leading Plumstead's pathetic marching band...to a very unusual beat.