Maniac Magee

People don’t just arbitrarily give you the name Maniac Magee. You really have to earn it. Born Jeffrey Lionel Magee, Maniac lost his parents at an early age; then his life changed dramatically. Kids today talk about how fast he could run and about his incredible in-the-park "frog" home run. But what the kids from the East and West sides talk about most is what he did for them all. Maniac Magee is a charmingly feel-good fiction and winner of the 1991 Newbery Medal.