Love, Stargirl

About Jerry Spinelli

Jerry Spinelli is a well known American children’s author specializing in novels written for and about early adolescence and winner of the Prestigious American Book Award, the Newbery Medal. In 1977 he married his 'stargirl' wife Eileen Mesi and is the father of 6 children.

Jerry first decided he wanted to become a writer at the age of 16, when his high school football team won a big game. He wrote a poem about this, and the next day the poem was published in the local newspaper. His passion for writing remained although it wasn't until much later that he was first published in book form. Since then his books have been a massive hit in the US but yet to hit the big time here in the UK. So here's your chance to grab a bit of Spinelli - your teenage children will thank you for the introduction.

He's loved by the media as much as he's loved by the reader in the US. Here are just a few of his glowing plaudits:

‘Spinelli poses searching questions about loyalty to one's friends and oneself and leaves readers to form their own answers.’ Publishers Weekly

‘Spinelli takes his readers on a journey where choices between the self and the group must be made, and he is wise enough to show how hard they are, even when sweet.’ Kirkus Reviews

‘A poetic, allegorical tale about the magnificence and rarity of true nonconformity.’
New York Times Book Review