What was jerry spinelli inspiration

Throughout his youth, Spinelli never imagined himself as a future writer and never read more than the literature printed on the back of cereal boxes. Instead, he dreamed of becoming a cowboy. He loved country tunes, Roy Rogers, and cowboy apparel, and sporting spurs on his heels in grade school. By the time Spinelli reached age eleven, though, the cowboy phase had passed and was replaced by a passion for sports, baseball especially.

During his adolescence, Spinelli fantasized about playing professional shortstop, preferably for the New York Yankees. It was not until his junior year of high school that he wrote a poem that would change his dream of homeruns and the World Series to a dream of bestsellers and, eventually, a Newbery Medal. In , while Norristown was celebrating after the victory of an intense football battle, sixteen-year-old Spinelli was at home, writing a poem about the event. He titled the short piece "Goal to Go," gave it to his father to read, and then forgot about it.

Louis Spinelli recognized his son's potential and submitted the poem to the Norristown Times-Herald. About a week later, to Jerry Spinelli's surprise, "Goal to Go" graced the front page of the sports section. The community loved the poem and praised Spinelli. It was the start of his writing career. After graduating high school, Spinelli pursued writing at Gettysburg College where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in At Gettysburg, he began writing his first short stories and was the college's literary magazine editor.

A year later, Spinelli received his Masters of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University, where he studied creative writing. He was also a student at Temple University during this time. After college and serving six months on active duty with the U. Naval Air Reserves, Spinelli began writing his first novel in between his work shifts as an editor for a department store magazine. Nearly two decades would pass, however, before Spinelli would publish his first book. In , Spinelli married Eileen Mesi, a writer and mother of six, and settled into his role as suburban husband and father.

Despite working a full time job as a writer and editor at the Chilton Company in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Spinelli would come home at night, fill his ears with cotton to drown out the noise of half a dozen children, and write. He refused to give up on his high school dream, even though his first four novels, thirteen years of work, were never published.

Four big-deal, important, grownup, adult novels," Spinelli wrote in an autobiography. The inspiration behind Spinelli's first published book, Space Station Seventh Grade , came from a small, domestic dispute in the Spinelli household over chicken wings. After dinner one night, Jerry hid five leftover chicken wings in the refrigerator so he could take them to work the next day. When he awoke in the morning, the chicken was mysteriously gone and only the picked over bones remained.

Spinelli knew that one of his six kids had stolen his wings, although none would confess to the crime. That day, instead of eating lunch, he began to write—"One by one my stepfather took the chicken bones out of the bag and laid them on the table. He laid them down real neat. In a row. Five of them"—the opening sentences to Space Station Seventh Grade. It was, or so Spinelli thought, his fifth adult book. In , it became his first published kid's book and the start of his career as a children's author.

Space Station Seventh Grade , Spinelli's favorite among his works, catalogs thirteen-year-old Jason Herkimer's awkward transition into adolescence, his struggle to accept divorce and a new stepfather, and his first crush.

To write the story, Spinelli observed the brood of young adults in his household, but also heavily drew upon his own experience, recalling childhood feelings, stunts, and places. James Guide to Young Adult Writers contributor. Spinelli's refusal to censor the rawness of teenage life received varying criticisms, from inappropriate and appalling to "sensitive and always uproariously funny" as Marilyn H.

It's a totally honest book. At the age of forty-one, Spinelli had finally achieved the dream he had been working towards since he was sixteen: he was an author. Although a published writer, Spinelli was not yet nationally known and continued to work at the Chilton Company to support his large family.

In , he finally decided to quit his stable job of twenty-three years and take a gamble on his success as a full-time author. I do remember one or two classmates who seemed to incite the others' disapproval. As I wrote the graduation chapter, I pictured the so-called "all-purpose room" where mine took place, but the resemblance ends there. The teachers in the story do not resemble my own, nor did we have a field day.

Are there any of your own school experiences that you used in the book? If so, could you tell us about one or two? There probably are, but I can't remember any offhand. When I went looking for Zinkoff's experiences, I think I found them on the other side of my own coin. For example, Zinkoff is slow, I was fast 50 yard dash champion of Norristown grade schools ; Zinkoff is awkward, I was athletic; Zinkoff gets one A, I got lots. If Zinkoff had been in my class, I probably would have thought he was a loser too.

Despite the A's, I had a lot to learn. After a difficult day at school, how did you make yourself feel better, or how do you make your children feel better? There was always a sport to play after school, so that distracted me from bad times. And I could always "escape" on my trusty green-and-cream Roadmaster bicycle. What qualities do you most admire in people, and what is the quality you most admire in Donald Zinkoff? I admire people with the courage to be themselves. I admire people who value other people.

I admire people who don't give up. Zinkoff is all of these. One day, when he is walking the streets of his town, Zinkoff "feels the picture he lives in has been tilted. Oh sure, many times. I dare anyone to grow up and not feel tilted now and then. Zinkoff loves to laugh.

What things make you laugh the most? Kids, especially when they don't even know they're being funny. What book was hardest for you to write? That book was inspired by two of our kids, Molly and Jeffrey, who were always fighting. It was difficult because I sometimes had a hard time figuring out how I was going to tell the story, since the chapters alternate back and forth from the point of view of the boy and the girl.

It was hard to figure out how to keep the story moving when it was being told from two different point of views. Besides yourself, who is your favorite author? My favorite author now is Eileen Spinelli, who happens to live in my house here. She's my wife. I'm lucky enough to be the first one to read her books. My favorite of her books is Somebody Loves You, Mr. When I was growing up, I didn't have much choice of favorite authors because I didn't read very much.

But I did like an author named Clair Bee. He was a famous college basketball coach. He wrote a series of books about a high school athlete called Chip Hilton. I also had a subscription to Bugs Bunny comic books. Now I tell kids to read a lot, though. I think that's why Maniac carries a book wherever he goes.

It's my way of making up for not reading very much when I was growing up. Have you ever wanted to change your career? Not lately, since I've found an audience for my work. When I was the age of most of my readers I wanted to be a baseball player.

Are you going to write any more books in the School Daze series? No, I think the School Daze series is over now. At least that's what my editors at Scholastic tell me!

What are your current pets, if any? Sorry to say, I don't have any right now. For the first time in six or seven years, I'm petless. My rat died recently, and about a month ago my chinchilla, Chichi, died. So I don't have any office mates at the moment. What interests you besides writing? Oh, well, let's see. Astronomy, travel, and country music.

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