Avi (Learning Works Meet the Author Series)

A biography of the prize-winning author of novels for young people

Grade 5-8?Two recent Newbery Honor Books (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, [1990], and Nothing but the Truth, [1991, both Orchard]) have brought this versatile writer recognition and many new fans. The first half of Markham's biography deals with Avi's background and family life. Perhaps the most compelling part of the story, though, lies in his triumph over dysgraphia, a learning disability that affects the individual's ability to write; in Avi's case, it made his spelling unpredictable and often rendered his writing unreadable. The author records how he overcame the problem with the support of his family and gifted tutor, but mainly through his own determination. The second half looks at Avi's creative process, the inspiration behind his books, and the recurrent themes of his work. A 17-page center section of black-and-white photos adds visual appeal. Teachers, librarians, and other adults working with children's literature will relish this book, with its wealth of fascinating details and anecdotes. Younger fans, though, will probably need some coaxing, but this solid biography will not disappoint those who try it.?Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Despite a term-paper approach, Markham (Lois Lowry, 1995), has produced a surprisingly involving and serviceable biography of a prolific and much-honored author. The book is inclusive, covering Avi's comfortable Brooklyn childhood with his twin sister Emily and older brother, Henry, relations with his parents and extended family, clues to his ``real'' name (its coy concealment from readers seems more self- indulgent and patronizing than amusing), and early writing despite his long struggle with dysgraphia. His college life, first and second marriages, children and stepchild, and careers as a librarian and teacher before achieving economic stability as a writer are here, enlivened by quotes from Avi and the linking of real events to fictional ones in his books. In the last chapters Markham integrates plot summaries of some of Avi's books with reiterations (almost verbatim) of his personal history, but this is still a notch above most curriculum-driven biographies, sure to send readers back to Avi's many works. (b&w photos, not seen, chronology, bibliography) (Biography. 10+) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 5^-7. Avi is one of our best children's authors, and this informative biography in the Meet the Author series gives middle-grade readers a sense of the man and the writer. There's not much literary criticism of individual books; the stories discussed in detail are those that are the most autobiographical, such as Wolf Rider and "Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?" One chapter is also devoted to his two Newbery Honor Books. There's a lot in his life story to interest his many readers. Markham describes Avi's childhood in a happy Jewish family (where he sometimes felt like an outsider), how he writes (he rewrites endlessly), what he likes to read, and his lifelong struggle with the learning disability dysgraphia (which made him feel like a failure at school and is still a source of anxiety). A number of family photos are grouped together in the center of the book. Markham avoids a reverential tone, allowing Avi to speak for himself about how he sees his world and his stories. Hazel Rochman