JERRY SPINELLI is the author of many beloved novels for young readers, including Stargirl; Love, Stargirl; Milkweed; The Warden's Daughter; Crash; Wringer; and Maniac Magee, winner of the Newbery Medal; along with Knots in My Yo-Yo String, the autobiography of his childhood. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, poet and author Eileen Spinelli.