Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: Pantheon, 1953. In this classic study of the quest hero, Campbell explores what he calls the monomyth from its origins in preliterate times through the great classical epics such as The Odyssey by Homer and the fairy tales up to the present. Spinelli seems to have gotten his structuring principles for part of Night of the Whale from this book.

Keller, John. "Jerry Spinelli." Horn Book 67 (July-August 1991): 433-436. A discussion of Spinelli's becoming a full-time writer and a writer of fiction for young adults.

R[ochman], H[azel]. Review. Booklist (December 1, 1985): 562. This is a brief, evaluative, balanced review of the novel.

Spinelli, Jerry. "Maniac Magee: Homer on George Street." In Horn Book 67 (January-February 1991): 40-41. This is the speech Spinelli gave when he accepted the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction. In it, he explains some...