Freak the Mighty
Thematic Bibliography
Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston:
Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999.
Spinelli, Jerry. Loser. New York:
HarperTrophy, 2003.
Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral. New
York: HarperTeen, 2000.
Maniac Magee is about a boy
named Jeffrey Lionel Magee
(known as Maniac Magee) who was
abandoned by his parents and
lived with his aunt and uncle.
Many parallels in
characterization can be made
with Freak the Mighty. Maniac
Magee and Freak the Mighty work
well together because both
show the exceptionality of those
who are not accepted by their
peers. Both novels show how
individuality and one’s unique
abilities should be celebrated.
Loser is the story of Donald
Zinkoff, a quirky young man with
strange ways. His peers have
labeled Donald a “Loser” but a
few around Donald Zinkoff know
he has a unique view on life worth
preserving. This book is a great
way to begin a discussion on what
it means to be accepted by peers
and the risks students take to
gain that acceptance.
Stuck in Neutral is the narrative
of a young boy Shawn McDaniel
and his battle with cerebral
palsy—he’s trapped in his body.
Shawn is sure his father wants to
kill him. The father-son
relationship and young people
with disabilities connects this
book to Freak the Mighty.
Euthanasia is a difficult topic for
some young people that should be
carefully addressed.
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. New York:
Scholastic, 2006.
Rules is a story of Catherine
whose brother David has autism.
She is embarrassed by his
behavior and sets up rules for
him to live by. Each chapter title
is a rule. Catherine learns that it
is more important to love others
and accept them for their
differences than try to rule their
behavior in hopes to give them a
normal life. Rules and Freak the
Mighty both have young
narrators with unique
perspectives who learn life
lessons from those around them
with disabilities. This book will
deepen students’ understanding
of what it means to accept
others’ differences.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Al Capone Does My Shirts is
about 12-year-old Moose
Shirts. New York: Penguin, 2004.
Flanagan who has an autistic
sister and the story follows the
things he and his family learn
from helping her. Like the novel,
Rules, his book provides insight
into how young people learn to
accept their family members who
have disabilities. This is a
historical piece set in 1935 on
Alcatraz Island. Together, Al
Capone does my shirts, Rules and
Freak the Mighty could be used in
literature circles.
Katherine Paterson’s Newbery
Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to
Novel is about the friendship of
Terabithia. New York: HarperCollins,
Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke.
1977.
This unlikely pair becomes
friends. Together they use their
imagination and the fantasy
world to overcome the
challenges in their lives. Later in
the book, Leslie Burke has a fatal
accident which leaves Jess
grieving the loss of Leslie.
Coping with Death and Friendship
connect this book to Freak the
Mighty.This is a children’s book
(grades 4-6) but deals with
complex issues which makes it
appropriate for older students
who lack reading skills.
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
Knowles, John. A Separate Peace.
A Separate Peace is a story of
friendship and betrayal of two
boys Gene and Phineas. Compared
to Freak the Mighty, A Separate
Peace is for an older audience as
its subject and style is much more
psychologically and emotionally
deep.
Students who want more
challenge could be guided to this
book to read on their own or in
place of a simpler text.
Philbrick, Rodman. Max the Mighty. New
York: Scholastic, Inc.,1998
The sequel to Freak the Mighty
provides greater insight into
characterization. Students can
make predictions based on the
small excerpt from this book
found in the back of Freak the
Mighty. If students (especially
reluctant readers) appreciated
Freak the Mighty, they will
continue to read the story of a
character they have connected
with.
http://www.help4teachers.com/freak.htm
This website has many different
writing activities and small
projects that students can
complete. As a culminating
assessment for the unit, teachers
can assign one of these writing
assignments or they can
introduce several of these ideas
and have students assemble their
work into a multigenre portfolio.
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.a
sp?id=41
This lesson plan comes from
ReadWriteThink (NCTE). It
describes before, during and
after reading strategies. Writing
activities (such as vocabulary
development), web resources and
assessments are also included.
Teachers should visit this website
if they are first beginning to plan
a Freak the Mighty unit.
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
http://www.rodmanphilbrick.com/teaching.html#freak
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql
/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/2b/25/3e.pdf
http://www.tigardor.gov/library/teens/reading_for_fun/docs/dealing_
with_bullies.pdf
This webpage comes from Rodman
Philbrick’s website, a website that
includes reading activities for
Freak the Mighty as well as many
of his other novels. It includes a
summary of the novel, questions
for discussion, ideas for
activities and an author biography
for enhanced reading.
This document describes the
problem of bullying in our
schools and how young adult
literature can be a tool to
address this problem that many
students face. In a culminating
assessment students can create
oral presentations on
preventing/dealing with bullying
at school. This website is a great
place for them to begin their
inquiry.
This document called “Dealing
with Bullies” lists wonderful
young adult novels that deal
with the subject of bullying. If a
semester or year theme revolves
around friendship or differences
or acceptance, other novels may
be chosen from this list to
supplement reading Freak the
Mighty or for students’
independent reading.
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008
Kyleen Liu. BYU. 2008