Maniac Magee by the numbers
Jerry Spinelli · first published 1990 · dataset 2026-07-21
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Length and reading time
| Pages (dataset edition) | 184 |
|---|---|
| Estimated words | 51,000 |
| Reading time, 300 wpm (fast) | 2 h 49 min |
| Reading time, 250 wpm (average adult) | 3 h 22 min |
| Reading time, 200 wpm (careful / younger reader) | 4 h 13 min |
| Days at 20 minutes a day | 11 |
| Lexile measure | 820L |
At 184 pages, Maniac Magee is longer than 43.1% of the 1,664 books on the reading lists we track. It is shorter than the median book listed for grades 3-5 (186 pages).
Word counts and reading times are estimates: pages × 275 words, divided by the reading speed. Your edition's page count and your own pace will differ.
Where Maniac Magee is on school reading lists
87 appearances (0.7% of all 13,258 listings in the dataset), drawn from 20 published lists, in grades 3rd–7th. 87 of the 87 carry a link to the published source document.
States (20): Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
| Grade | Listings |
|---|---|
| 3rd | 1 |
| 4th | 21 |
| 5th | 22 |
| 6th | 23 |
| 7th | 20 |
Sources
- Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) — Young Reader's Choice Award (est. 1940, the oldest children's-choice book award in the US): students in WA, OR, ID, MT & AK read the annual nominees and vote. Winner list 1940-2025. · checked 2026-07-07
- Vermont Dept. of Libraries — Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, est. 1957): Vermont's statewide grades 4-8 children's-choice program (students read the nominees and vote). Winner list 1957-2020. · checked 2026-07-07
- William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — Kansas's statewide children's-choice program (est. 1952; students read the annual nominees and vote). Winner list 1953-2025 per the William Allen White Award record. · checked 2026-07-07
- Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) — Mark Twain Readers Award: Missouri's statewide grades 4-6 children's-choice program (students read the annual nominees and vote). Winner list 1972-2025 per the Mark Twain Award record. · checked 2026-07-07
- New York State Reading Association — Charlotte Award winner (official 'History of NYSRA Charlotte Winners' 1990-2025 PDF, nysreading.org/Charlotte-Awards, fetched 2026-07-02) · checked 2026-07-02
- Newbery Medal (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 1991 Newbery Medal winner · checked 2026-06-20
Questions
How many pages is Maniac Magee?
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is 184 pages in the edition recorded in our dataset. Page counts vary by edition and format; at about 275 words per page that is roughly 51,000 words.
How long does it take to read Maniac Magee?
About 3 h 22 min at an average adult pace of 250 words per minute (2 h 49 min at 300 wpm, 4 h 13 min at 200 wpm). At 20 minutes a day that is about 11 days.
Is Maniac Magee on school reading lists?
Yes. It appears 87 times on the U.S. school reading lists, award lists and curricula in our dataset, in 20 states plus 10 national-curriculum listings, most often in grades 3-5. That ranks it #5 of 1,664 listed books.
Related
- Maniac Magee: reading level, grades and similar booksOn ReadingList, our sister site for school reading lists.
- More by Jerry SpinelliFourth Grade Rats · Crash
- Books of about the same lengthCharlotte's Web (184 pp.) · The Great Gatsby (180 pp.) · The Giver (179 pp.) · Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (190 pp.)
- The most assigned books, rankedAll 1,664 listed books start here.
- Book length statisticsHow long assigned books are, by grade.
Cite this page
<a href="https://bookstatistics.com/books/maniac-magee/">Maniac Magee statistics</a>. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [Maniac Magee statistics](https://bookstatistics.com/books/maniac-magee/). Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site. [url=https://bookstatistics.com/books/maniac-magee/]Maniac Magee statistics[/url]. Book Statistics, a Figures Bureau site.