Edward Irving Wortis

Edward Irving Wortis (born December 23, 1937), better known by the pen name Avi,American Library Association: " [http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqarchives/volume34/342swilliams.htm Cataloging Rules.] " URL accessed 15 January 2007.Joan M. Reitz, "Dictionary for Library and Information Science". Libraries Unlimited, 2004.] is a prominent American author of young adult and children's literature. He is a winner of both the Newbery Honor and Newbery Medal.

Biography

Avi and his twin sister Emily Wortis Leider (also a writer) were born in New York City to Joseph Wortis, a psychiatrist, and Helen Zunser Wortis, a social worker. In the year after Avi's birth, his family moved to Brooklyn. When he was young his sister gave him the nickname "Avi," which he adopted as his pseudonym. Two of Avi's grandfathers were writers, and one grandmother was a playwright. In interviews, he recalled his mother reading to him and his sister every night, and going to the public library on Fridays. He is also the first cousin of the Academy Award-winning actor Alan Arkin.

After he failed Stuyvesant High School, Avi's parents transferred him to Elisabeth Irwin High School, a smaller private school. There he studied with a tutor, Ella Ratner (whom he credits for his writing success), and found that he had dysgraphia, a condition causing him to reverse or misspell words.

Avi is a prolific author, having written over 60 books for young readers. He has written books for different age groups and in many different genres. Perhaps his most famous books fall under the category of historical fiction, but he has also written fantasies, comedies, mysteries, ghost stories, adventure tales, realistic fiction, and picture books. Avi has won many prestigious awards for his books, including a Newbery Honor for "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" in 1991 and another for "Nothing But the Truth" in 1992. His fiftieth book, "," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2003. As of the end of 2005, Avi has published 58 books, all written for children/young adults. In 2006 Avi wrote a sequel to "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" titled "". After living in Providence, Rhode Island, in the 1980s and 1990s, Avi now lives in Denver, Colorado,with his wife, Linda Cruise Wortis.

Bibliography

*"Sherwood Anderson's The Triumph of the Egg : and experiment in production styles", 1962 (dissertation)
*"Things That Sometimes Happen", 1970
*"Snail Tail: The Adventures of a Rather Small Snail", 1972
*"No More Magic", 1975
*"Captain Grey", 1977
*"Emily Upham's Revenge or How Deadwood Dick Saved the Banker's Niece: A Massachusetts Adventure", 1978
*"Night Journeys", 1979
*"American Children's cokacola : A Bibliographic History", 1979
*"Encounter At Easton", 1980
*"History of Helpless Harry: to which is add a variety of amusing and entertaining adventures", 1980
*"Man From The Sky", 1980
*"Who Stole The Wizard Of Oz?", 1981
*"A Place Called Ugly", 1981
*"Sometimes I Think I Hear My Name", 1982
*"Shadrach's Crossing", 1983
*"Smuggler's Island", 1983
*"Devils Race", 1984
*"S.O.R. Losers", 1984
*"The Fighting Ground", 1984
*"Bright Shadow", 1985
*"Wolf Rider", 1986
*"Romeo & Juliet, Together and Alive at Last", 1987
*"" 1988
*"The Man Who Was Poe" 1989
*"The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle", 1990
*"Nothing But the Truth", 1991
*" Windcatcher", 1991
*"Blue Heron", 1992
*"Who Was that Masked Man Anyway?", 1992
*"City of Light, City of Dark", 1993
*"Punch With Judy", 1993
*"The Barn", 1994
*"The Bird the Frog and the Light : A Fable", 1994
*"Tales From Dimwood Forest: Poppy", 1995
*"Tom, Babbette & Simon", 1995
*"Beyond the Western Sea: The Escape from Home (Book I)", 1996
*"Beyond the Western Sea: Lord Kirkle's Money (Book II)", 1996
*"Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams", 1997
*"Keep Your Eyes on Amanda", 1997
*"What Do Fish Have To Do With Anything? and other stories", 1997
*"Talk to Me", 1997
*"Perloo the Bold", 1998
*"Tales From Dimwood Forest: Poppy & Rye", 1998
*"Abigail Takes the Wheel", 1999
*"Midnight Magic", 1999
*"Tales From Dimwood Forest: Ragweed", 1999
*"Amanda Joins the Circus", 1999
*"Second Sight: Stories for a New Millennium", 1999
*"Tales From Dimwood Forest: Ereth's Birthday", 2000
*"The Christmas Rat", 2000
*"Don't You Know There's a War On?", 2001
*"Prairie School", 2001
*"The Good Dog", 2001
*"The Secret School", 2001
*"", 2002
*"Silent Movie", 2003
*"The Mayor of Central Park", 2003
*"Never Mind", 2004
*"The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant)", 2004
*"Tales from Dimwood Forest: Poppy's Return", 2005
*"The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic", 2005
*"Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation", 2006
*"", 2006
*"The Traitors' Gate", 2007
*"Iron Thunder", 2007
*"The Seer of Shadows", 2008
*"A Beginning, a Muddle and an End", 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.avi-writer.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jhtml?authorID=1768&collateralID=5091&displayName=Biography Avi] at Scholastic's official website
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/edward-irving-wortis-children-s-author Entry at Answers.com]
* [http://www.educationoasis.com/bc/authorpages/avi.htm/ Educational links]
* [http://www.webenglishteacher.com/avi.html Lesson plans and other resources] at Web English Teacher