Newbery Award-winning book by Jerry Spinelli. It is about a young orphan boy, (whose real name is not Maniac) who runs away from home (he had lived with his neglectful Catholic aunt and uncle) during a choir concert. He eventually "settles down" in another town, which is segregated. Maniac is blind to racism, however, and his naivete and his odd talents eventually bring the town together, though not painlessly.