Avi was born in 1937.
Event Description
Edward Irving Wortis was born on December 23, 1937, in New York City. As a child, his twin sister Emily called him "Avi," which is now the only name he uses. Despite his struggle with dysgraphia, Avi decided to focus on writing as a senior in high school. His first book was published in 1970 and he has published over 30 books since then. Avi was honored with the Newbery Medal for Crispin: Cross of Lead and a Newbery Honor for Nothing But the Truth.
Classroom Activity
In Nothing But the Truth, Avi writes in a documentary style, using journal entries, dialogue, and other writing genres. After reading this novel, have your students explore a current event topic and write their own short work of fiction in a similar multigenre format.
- Have students research and select a current event topic of interest. Provide print resources such as magazines and newspapers, as well as access to news on the Web.
- As a group, brainstorm a list of possible genres to include in a documentary-style story. The list could include those used in Nothing But the Truth, such as maps, poems, letters, or interviews.
- Have students make brief presentations to the class on the topics they have chosen, including the resources they have selected for inclusion in their writing. Encourage constructive criticism and sharing of ideas for alternate resources students might include.
- Have students use the feedback to plan their stories before writing. You may wish to have students use the Literary Elements Mapping tool to help with planning.
- Finally, have students write their stories. Publish the stories on a bulletin board or in a class book.
Websites
Avi's official website includes lists of his books, organized by genre or topic, as well as biographical information and information for teachers.
In this interview with Reading Rockets, Avi talks about the challenges of writing, his years as a librarian, and his symptoms of dyslexia.
This guide, from Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., provides a list of characters, chapter summaries, and related activities for Avi's novel.