Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli

Dear Readers,
OK, let's stop right there...

You are a reader, aren't you? Maybe you don't think of that as a big deal. (“Yo—I'm a Reader!”) Well, let me tell you, it is a big deal, at least as far as I'm concerned, because when I was a kid you couldn't use the word “Reader” to describe me.

Except for schoolwork, about the only thing things I read were sports pages and the backs of cereal boxes. I regret that now. I wish I could go back and change it, but I can't. The best I can do is have one of my characters (Maniac Magee) carry a book everywhere he goes. It's the closest I can come to going back in time and doing it right. But it's not too late for you. Be proud, Dear Reader.

And speaking of reading, let me put in a plug here for my new novel Milkweed. Unlike most of my stories, it takes place during another time (1939–1942) and far away (Warsaw, Poland). It's the story of a little kid with a big heart. A kid who finds himself trapped in a walled-in nightmare. A kid whose only allies are his own size and speed and a little girl named Janina. A kid whose life can be summed up in three words: Steal or starve.

I hope you like it. Even more, I hope you don't stop reading.

Jerry Spinelli

Those interested in World War II or the Nazi occupation of Poland
Those who like Jerry Spinelli's typical "underdog" boy character who rises above all odds by being true to himself
Those who like books that I like, because I LOVED this book!!