Let's start with the good stuff, shall we? Maniac Magee is about as likeable a main character as you can hope for. He straddles the line between incredible and ordinary, making him both an exciting and relatable protagonist for younger readers. Not sure what we're talking about? Consider this: Maniac comes equipped with near heroic levels of bravery, off-the-charts smarts, and jack-of-all-trade abilities. Pretty spectacular, right? But his life is anything but spectacular. So instead of begrudging him his awesomeness, kids can't help but root for him.

One Hard Life

Speaking of Maniac's life, this is where things get a little trickier—for Maniac, that is, not for your students. See, the thing about having an imperfect life is that it makes Maniac someone kids can get behind. Kids identify with other kids, and more so if they can sympathize in some way with their circumstances. And opportunities to sympathize with Maniac present themselves in spades—he's orphaned, homeless, hungry, cold, sad, and more. So there's pretty much something to speak to every student in your class.

One Sweet Deal

In short, Maniac's one-of-a-kind personality and talents combine with a perfect storm of terrible situations to culminate in a kid who is both interesting and relatable, the kind of kid young readers readily root for, powering through the book's pages to see what happens next and whether he ultimately lands on his feet.

Additionally, Maniac Magee is written in a straightforward, clear manner without lots of description of scenery and other interruptions. We meet the characters and take them for who they are, which is exactly what Maniac does. Spinelli has a knack for telling only the parts of this story that really matter, offering up the facts, pure and simple. In other words, just like Maniac's an easy character to get behind, the text is easy to get into, too.