Parents' Guide to

Maniac Magee

By Barbara Schultz, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Kid bridges racial divide in exciting, moving story.

Maniac Magee Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 17 parent reviews

age 2+

PeePeePooPoo

This Book is AMAZING. The Writing brought me tears with his Writing. This book is Great for Kids learning about Racial Prejudice. 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000/10

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
age 9+

Maybe a 3 star.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17):
Kids say (45):

Jerry Spinelli's wonderful novel addresses essential issues of race and child raising, but it's never preachy. Instead, the author tells an engrossing and amusing story that makes kids think about their world, and it serves as a great discussion starter. Likewise, Spinelli offers hope that individual hearts and minds can change, but he doesn't guarantee universal peace and harmony. The author's approach is engaging, not only because he doesn't make any unrealistic promises, but also because he creates such winning and rich characters, with relatable quirks and problems. Maniac Magee is a legend to kids in Two Mills because he seems first and foremost like a real kid with an extraordinary story.

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate