With his first novel for young adults, ""Space Station Seventh Grade"", Jerry Spinelli established himself as a writer of stories that reflect the real concerns of adolescents accompanied by wit and humor. His books, including the Newbery-winning ""Maniac Magee"", cover the controversial topics of race relations, gender bias, and even the Holocaust. In ""Jerry Spinelli"", learn more about this popular author's journey as a writer, from his first published poem about sports to the bag of chicken bones that inspired his first published novel.