Reading logs are important for students to write down the story elements in the book, as well as their reactions and opinions (Tompkins, 2017). Maniac Magee contains many elements of story structure within the book. The plot is consistently changing; similarly many different characters are introduced throughout the entire book. To keep up with various elements, the students will fill out their reading log every three chapters. There are forty-six chapters in Maniac Magee, so there should be approximately fifteen entries. Students will receive paper and staple the paper into a booklet format. On the front of their booklet they will write Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. In the first entry, students will discuss the plot, characters, setting, …show more content…
He is orphaned at a young age and is in search of a home and place where he belongs. He becomes a legend in Two Mills for his frog pitch, untying a huge knot, running long distance, and what he did for the East and West end. Amanda Beale is the first character that Maniac meets in Two Mills. Amanda loves to rad and is an extremely loyal friend and bossy. Amanda Beale and her family live in the East End, and take Maniac into their home. They are extremely welcoming and treat Maniac as one of their own, despite his skin color. Mars Bar is the antagonist in the book; he lives in the East End. He dislikes Maniac because of he out ran him and his skin color. John McNab is a giant; he’s 5 foot 8 and almost 180 pounds. He’s strong, mean, a baseball player, and a leader of a gang. Maniac meets the two other McNab boys when they are trying to run away. He returns them to their house and he ends up living with the McNab family in the West End for a time. Maniac meets Earl Grayson when he is living in the zoo, and takes him into his home. They form a father-son relationship, due to their similar backgrounds. Maniac teaches Grayson how to read and he learns about Grayson being a minor league baseball pitcher. Eventually, Earl Grayson dies and Maniac is on his own