Avi << AH vee >> (1937-…) is the pen name of Edward Irving Wortis, a popular American author of children’s literature. Avi is best known for his historical fiction. He won the 2003 Newbery Medal for his historical novel Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2002). The Newbery Medal is an annual award for the best children’s book by an American. The novel is set in England during the 1300’s. The suspenseful story describes the adventures of a 13-year-old peasant boy falsely accused of a crime.
Critics have praised Avi’s fiction for its strong characters, complex plots, and accurate historical research. Several of his stories place fictional characters in real historical situations. The Fighting Ground (1984) tells about a 13-year-old boy during one day in the American Revolution (1775-1783). Avi’s novels Captain Grey (1977); Night Journeys (1979) and its sequel, Encounter at Easton (1980); and Sophia’s War (2012) are also set in colonial America. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990) describes the adventures of a 13-year-old girl. She becomes involved in a mutiny while crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a sailing ship in 1832. The Man Who Was Poe (1989) is a fictionalized story about the American author Edgar Allan Poe. The Traitors’ Gate (2007) is based on the life of the English author Charles Dickens. Don’t You Know There’s a War On (2001) is a humorous novel set in the Brooklyn borough of New York City during World War II (1939-1945). Iron Thunder (2007) is a historical novel set during the American Civil War (1861-1865).
Avi’s other novels include S.O.R. Losers (1984), about a group of unathletic boys forced to form a soccer team for their school, and its sequel, Romeo and Juliet—Together (and Alive!) at Last (1987) about two shy eighth-graders who put on and star in a production of Shakespeare’s famous play; Wolf Rider (1988), about a father and son whose relationship is threatened when a series of terrifying events raises questions between them; Nothing But the Truth (1991), about a boy’s conflict with his English teacher; City of Orphans (2011), about a boy detective in New York City in 1893; Old Wolf (2015), a survival tale about an aging leader of a wolf pack, a raven, and a teenage boy whose paths collide; and The Most Important Thing: Stories About Sons, Fathers, and Grandfathers (2016), which presents stories about seven different boys and the men in their families. The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts (2017) is an adventure story about a boy separated from his family who struggles for survival in England in 1724. In a sequel, The End of the World and Beyond (2019), Oliver, now a convicted criminal, is transported to the American colonies in 1725 and sold into slavery. Loyalty (2022) takes place at the outbreak of the American Revolution (1775-1783).
Avi has also written “Tales from Dimwood Forest,” a series of fantasy stories for younger readers about a forest mouse named Poppy. The series, illustrated by the American illustrator Brian Floca, began with Poppy (1995).
Edward Irving Wortis was born on Dec. 23, 1937, in New York City. His sister nicknamed him “Avi,” which he adopted as his pen name. Avi received degrees in history and the theater from the University of Wisconsin in 1959 and 1962. He earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University in 1964. Avi worked as a librarian for the theater collection at the New York Public Library from 1962 to 1970. He was a humanities librarian at Trenton State College in New Jersey from 1970 to 1986. His first book was a collection of stories for beginning readers called Things That Sometimes Happen (1970). Another collection of short stories, Strange Happenings (2006), deals with young people involved in odd or magical situations.
