Jerry Spinelli Books in Order

Every year in Amber Springs, eighth graders spend one day pretending to be dead, wearing the name of a teen who died. Quiet Worm expects a free pass, until the girl he draws, Becca Finch, seems to show up and push him toward truly living.

A small boy narrates his favorite day of the year, from a pajama parade and helping pack the picnic wagon to games in the park and late night fireworks. The story captures a nostalgic, food filled Fourth in one bustling small town.

In the summer of 1959, Cammie O'Reilly lives in an apartment above the prison where her widowed father is warden. Angry over the mother she lost as a toddler, she lashes out until the women around her help her face grief and change.

Whenever Mama Seeton gives her soft two note whistle, her four children come running home for cake, hugs, and stories. As the years pass and they scatter across the world, that same whistle still carries the pull of home and family.

In the strange land of Hokey Pokey, kids rule, bikes are everything, and there are no adults in sight. When Jack's beloved bike is stolen and he alone hears a distant train whistle, he begins a surreal journey out of childhood.

George Suds Morton has heard the rhyme about first grade babies and fourth grade rats, but this is his year to be a third grade angel. With a cardboard halo on the line, he tries to be perfect, then discovers what kindness really costs.

Twins Jake and Lily share goombla, a near telepathic bond that has always made them feel like one person. The summer before middle school, Jake drifts toward a new friend who bullies goobers, and Lily must figure out who she is on her own.

A young boy daydreams about what he might be when he grows up, from puddle stomper and mixing bowl licker to puppy petter and silly joke teller. His wild list ends with the joyful decision to try being all of them.

This collection offers a short reading for every day of the year, pairing quotes from children's books with down to earth reflections and a simple Today I will promise. It nudges young readers toward gratitude, empathy, curiosity, and small daily actions.

Designed as a keepsake, this journal gives readers lined pages bracketed by quotes from Stargirl and Love, Stargirl. Fans can track their own acts of kindness, questions, crushes, and daily wonders alongside the voice of their favorite nonconformist.

After leaving Arizona and Leo behind, Stargirl pours a year's worth of letters to him into one long diary. In her new Pennsylvania town she befriends quirky neighbors, nurses a broken heart, and slowly rebuilds her happy wagon stone by stone.

Nine year old David, still reeling from his mother's accidental death, meets thirteen year old Primrose, who lives in a nearby van and fights with her fortune teller mom. Their wary friendship grows through late night movies, junkyard treasure hunts, and shared loneliness.

A little pup counts the best part of every day, the time after Daddy comes home from work. Together they cook, fix things, play, and end with a lullaby, celebrating the easy rituals that bind fathers and young children.

In war torn Warsaw, an orphaned boy survives by stealing food and clinging to the story that he is a Gypsy. Taken in by Jewish children, he witnesses the rise of the ghetto and must decide who he is and whom he will care for.

From first grade on, Donald Zinkoff is the kid who trips, shouts answers, and never quite fits. As classmates quietly label him a loser, the story follows years of small failures and one winter night that reveals what really makes someone a hero.

At Mica High in Arizona, the new girl calling herself Stargirl Caraway serenades classmates with a ukulele, cheers for both teams, and performs anonymous kindnesses. Leo Borlock falls for her, then must choose between her luminous strangeness and the comfort of fitting in.

Ninth grader Will Tuppence loves physics, chess, and planning his future down to the minute. When a science discovery rattles his sense of order and his little sister Tabby is badly hurt, he is forced to rethink time, risk, and what truly matters.

In this memoir, Spinelli looks back on his boyhood in Norristown, from street games and first crushes to the moment he swapped dreams of baseball for dreams of writing. Short, vivid chapters read like stories about how an author is made.

City girl Tooter Pepperday still feels out of place on Aunt Sally's farm, so she decides to win a blue ribbon at the county fair goat show. Keeping her stubborn goat groomed, and her little brother away with a paintbrush, turns into a comic challenge.

In Waymer, turning ten means becoming a wringer, a boy who finishes off wounded pigeons at the town's annual shoot. Palmer dreads the job even more after he secretly adopts a pigeon and must decide whether to follow tradition or his conscience.

Four standalone stories follow very different kids whose lives are quietly changed by the same mysterious blue library card. A petty thief, a TV addict, a homeless boy, and a restless farm girl each discover how books can open an unexpected door.

Seventh grade football star John Crash Coogan loves hitting hard and teasing his gentle neighbor, Quaker kid Penn Webb. Over one turbulent year he begins to see the hurt he causes and has to decide what kind of friend he wants to be.

When the Pepperday family moves from the city to Aunt Sally's remote farm, Tooter is furious. No pizza, no playground, just chores and animals. Her noisy campaign to get back to town slowly turns into a grudging appreciation of country life.

At Plumstead Middle School, Eddie wants muscles, Sunny wants the bullies off her back, Salem wants a scoop for the school paper, and Pickles has built a secret invention. Their plans collide in a tangle of pranks, crushes, and one unforgettable experiment.

Eddie Mott already feels small at his new middle school when a locker room mix up sends him racing to class in superhero underwear. As the humiliation spreads, football, friendship, and a stubborn crush on Sunny force him to find a little courage.

Bertie and the Bathwater Gang decide the way to launch their pet washing business is to get neighborhood animals as dirty as possible, then offer to clean them. Their scheme backfires in messy, good natured ways as they learn about responsibility and friendship.

Eddie is sure a new dance will finally impress Sunny, especially with his friend Pickles as coach. When he debuts the Funky Pickle at the school dance, he accidentally attracts punky Angelpuss and the wrath of her tough boyfriend, creating hilarious near disaster.

After failing to make cheerleading, eighth grader Maisie Potter joins the boys' wrestling team mostly to be near her crush. As she faces teammates' doubts, hostile crowds, and media attention, she discovers she wrestles best for herself, not for anyone watching.

On the chaotic first days at Plumstead Middle School, Sunny, Eddie, Salem, and Pickles keep landing in the principal's office for wildly different reasons. Their misadventures slowly weave together into unexpected friendships and a new sense of belonging at a strange school.

Suds Morton liked being a third grade angel, but now the playground rhyme says fourth graders are rats who never cry and always act tough. Pushed by his best friend Joey, Suds experiments with meanness before deciding what kind of grown up he really wants to be.

Best friends J.D. and Duke live at the dead end of a street near the town dump, where they dream up money making schemes and the perfect day off from school. Nothing goes as planned, but small victories and surprises make the summer memorable.

Bertie wants some excitement during a dull summer, so she decides to start an all girl gang. Her motley crew of neighbors finds themselves in a playful turf war with the local boys, discovering how quickly rivalry can turn into real friendship.

Orphaned Jeffrey Maniac Magee runs away and lands in the racially divided town of Two Mills, where his amazing feats turn him into a local legend. Living with black and white families, he quietly exposes prejudice while searching for a real home.

Six high school friends rent a beach house for one last wild summer before adulthood, planning nothing but parties and freedom. When they stumble on a pod of stranded whales, the rescue effort forces them to confront responsibility, love, and what comes after high school.

Ninth grader Jason Herkimer is thrilled to be dating his old rival Marceline, but terrified he does not know how to be a boyfriend. As his reckless buddies urge him to act cool, he wrestles with peer pressure, intimacy, and staying true to himself.

Siblings Greg and Megin narrate alternating chapters of full scale prank warfare, from booby trapped bedrooms to public embarrassments. Between the battles, each struggles with friends, crushes, and growing up, showing how fierce rivalry can hide a stubborn kind of love.

Seventh grader Jason Herkimer sees junior high as a kind of space station full of strange experiments in friends, family, and first crushes. Through football games, humiliations, and a changing friendship with misfit Marceline, he stumbles toward a more honest version of himself.