Interest Level:
4-8
Lexile Framework:
650L
Grade Level Equivalent:
5.5
Guided Reading Level:
U
Age:
9-13
Genre:
Realistic Fiction
Subject:
Pride and Self-Esteem, Individuality, Middle School
Donald Zinkoff is a loser, but he doesn't know it. Even when his classmates discover it, Zinkoff is too busy experiencing life to listen to them.
Jerry Spinelli won the Newbery Medal for Maniac Magee, the sixth of his more than fifteen acclaimed books for young readers. Growing up, he played no fewer than five different sports, including football, track, and basketball. He wanted to be a shortstop in the majors long before it occurred to him to be a writer. Crash came out of his desire to include the beloved Penn Relays of his home state of Pennsylvania in a book. And, of course, to show the world a little bit about athletes and what makes some of them tick. Jerry Spinelli lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.


