Interview by Paul Salfen, Text by Christine Thompson for AMFM Magazine
Imagine writing more than 30 novels for young readers over four decades, winning the Newbery Medal, and then—after a 15-year break—returning to a beloved series that began with a simple schoolyard chant. That’s exactly what Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli has done with Fifth Grade Top Dogs, the latest installment in his Rule the School series. In an exclusive conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Spinelli reflects on the enduring appeal of childhood, his philosophy of writing what you care about, the magical moment that sparked Maniac Magee, and why the story itself is always the true foundation. Fifth Grade Top Dogs is a Junior Library Guild Selection and is already earning rave reviews, including this from Kirkus: “Top Dogs learn to heel in this new chapter in a long-standing series… Youthful shenanigans, smartly conveyed with humor, heart, and candor.”
The Schoolyard Chant That Started It All
Spinelli never set out to write a series. One day, the old playground rhyme popped into his head: First grade babies. Second grade cats. Third grade angels. Fourth grade rats. He turned “Fourth Grade Rats” into a title and a story. Fifteen years later, with fifth graders now firmly at the top of elementary school, he completed the natural progression with Fifth Grade Top Dogs.
“It’s part of a series that I really never intended,” Spinelli told AMFM Magazine. “But here we are on the third one. It came out yesterday.”
The book follows Suds and his best friend Joey as they navigate the new social territory of being “top dogs.” True to Spinelli’s style, the story blends humor, heart, and the small, universal dramas of growing up.
“I Don’t Write for Kids — I Write About Them”
When asked about his rare gift for speaking to young readers across generations, Spinelli pushed back gently on the premise.
“I don’t think of it that way, Paul. I think of myself as not writing for kids, but about them,” he said. “What I write for is the story. I get an idea, and then I take it out to lunch and I talk to it, and I let the idea talk to me… I’m writing the best story I can and letting the audience take care of itself.”
The result? Readers from grade school to age 90. Spinelli’s secret isn’t chasing trends or current slang — it’s remembering how it felt to be a kid.
“Kids change in their details and their haircuts and their clothes,” he explained, “but kids are still the same the way they were back in my day. My main job is recollecting how I felt about things. Chances are the kids today are feeling the same thing.”
Write What You Care About
When it comes to advice for aspiring writers, Spinelli has a clear, underlined philosophy:
“One of the common answers is ‘Write what you know.’ I don’t say that. I say write what you care about — and when I’m writing it out, I always underline the word care. If you’re writing what you care about, you’re giving yourself the best chance to get your best stuff onto the paper, and the rest will take care of itself.”
The Hail Mary Moment That Created Maniac Magee
Spinelli also shared the now-famous story of how Maniac Magee was nearly abandoned — until a moment of surrender changed everything. After 73 frustrating pages, he decided to walk away for a few days. While playing with his pet chinchilla in his Pennsylvania office, the opening line arrived unbidden:
“Maniac Magee was born in a dump.”
He wrote it down. The story poured out. He showed a page to his wife Eileen. She said, “This is it.”
“That was the beginning of that book,” Spinelli recalled. “That was a moment.”
“The Universe Is Made of Stories”
As the conversation wound down, Spinelli offered a beautiful closing thought on what really matters in his work — and in life:
“The foundation of it all is not the movies. It’s not even, strictly speaking, the book. It’s actually the story. As Muriel Rukeyser, the poet, once wrote, ‘The universe is not made of atoms, but of stories.’ That’s the basic thing. That’s the beginning of it all.”
A Timeless Voice for New Generations
With Fifth Grade Top Dogs now in readers’ hands, Spinelli continues a legacy that includes modern classics like Stargirl and Maniac Magee. Whether he’s writing about top dogs on the playground or a boy running through two towns, his stories remind us that the feelings of childhood — belonging, identity, friendship, and becoming who you are — never go out of style.
Fifth Grade Top Dogs is available now wherever books are sold and is a Junior Library Guild Selection.
