Jerry Spinelli

Loser (I drew this picture.)

In my opinion Jerry Spinelli is one of the most realistic writers ever. That is because his characters are very realistic. His characters are also very funny. But that's not what Spinelli was like when he was a kid.

When Spinelli was a kid he wanted to be a cowboy, which lasted until he was 10. After that he wanted to be a shortstop for the New York Yankees. Spinelli was a big sports fan from then on. That was all until he got an urge to write a poem about his high school winning the football game. After that Spinelli wrote adult books, but all the books didn't get published. He wrote a fifth book and adults rejected it again, but a children's books publisher wanted to publish it. That's how Spinelli accidently became a children's writer.

Today Spinelli has written more than a dozen books. One of his books, Stargirl, won a Newberry Honor and a New York Times bestseller. Another book, Maniac Mcgee, also won a Newberry Award. One of his books, Milkweed, won an American Library Association for Young Adults award. Spinelli says he gets his ideas from childhood and ordinary life. I think Jerry Spinelli is one of the best writers ever.