Tony has saved $300, enough to buy a small sailboat. He will use it every day during his three-week stay with his grandmother on the Connecticut shore. Once Tony learns to sail, he starts exploring the waters around a group of tiny islands offshore. One day, he sees two people in diving gear on a motorboat. But instead of greeting him, they wave him away. The next time he sees them, he discovers that they will do anything to hide what they have found. He is chased, and his boat is stolen. Now, lost and alone, with night falling fast, Tony wonders if he will ever get back to his grandmother's--and safety--again. Avi is the author of dozens of books for children, including the Newbery Honor Book The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. In Windcatcher, he crafts a story crackling with excitement and danger. It is sure to capture the attention of even the most reluctant reader, especially with Audie Award-winner George Guidall's narration.
A fast-paced, madcap adventure--with a fresh new cover treatment--from the always surprising raconteur, Avi! It's the spring of 1945 in Brooklyn, and while WWII rages in Europe, sixth grader Frankie Wattleson--inspired by the heroics of The Lone Ranger and other radio show idols--sets out to right the wrongs of the world. Frankie is so caught up in his superhero stories that he becomes convinced the tenant renting his brother's room is a mad scientist. Can Frankie and his trusty sidekick, Mario, save the world from an evil genius? Or will Frankie's mother pull the plug on their schemes before they can save the day? Told exclusively through dialogue and radio excerpts, this fast-paced story shows off Avi's versatility and incomparable storytelling skills.
High adventure from a master storyteller about one boy's attempt to fend for himself among cruel orphan masters, corrupt magistrates, and conniving thieves. In the seaside town of Melcombe Regis, England, 1724, Oliver Cromwell Pitts wakes to find his father missing and his house flooded by a recent storm. He's alone in his ruined home with no money and no food. Oliver's father has left behind a barely legible waterlogged note: he's gone to London, where Oliver's sister, Charity, is in trouble. Exploring damage to the town in the storm's aftermath, Oliver discovers a shipwreck on the beach. Removing anything from a wrecked ship is a hanging offense, but Oliver finds money that could save him, and he can't resist the temptation to take it. When his crime is discovered, Oliver flees, following the trail of his father and sister. The journey is full of thieves, adventurers, and treachery--and London might be the most dangerous place of all. In the tradition of his Newbery Honor book The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi mixes high adventure and short, page-turning chapters with a vivid historical setting featuring a cast of highwaymen, pickpockets, and villainous criminal masterminds.
Avi's swashbuckling tale of murder and mutiny on the high seas has a fascinating twist: the heroine is a 13-year-old girl. In 1832, Charlotte Doyle boards a ship bound for America and is caught in a battle between a mad captain and his ruthless crew. If you're looking for an action-packed adventure story for girls, you'll find it in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
Best-selling author Avi has won numerous honors, including the Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead. In The Traitors' Gate, Avi spins a Dickensian tale of 19th-century London. Young John Huffam is having a disastrous time. His father has been jailed and John himself is being followed by Inspector Copperfield-just one of the many eccentric characters in this delightfully Victorian tale. "[This] is the novel I've always wanted to write. It was inspired by the true tale of young Charles Dickens ..."-Avi
In 1925 Colorado, 14-year-old Ida Bidson dreams of becoming a teacher, but she knows it won't be easy. When the school board closes the town's one-room school, threatening to keep Ida from finishing eighth grade and moving on to high school, it looks like her dream will never come true. Then she and her classmates come up with a plan for a secret school-with Ida as their teacher!
From Newbery Award-winning author Avi comes the gripping and amazingly true tale of a boy plucked from the gutter to become the King of England. England, 1486. King Henry VII has recently snatched the English Crown and now sits on the throne, while young Prince Edward, who has a truer claim, has apparently disappeared. Meanwhile, a penniless kitchen boy named Lambert Simnel is slaving away at a tavern in Oxford-until a mysterious friar, Brother Simonds, buys Lambert from the tavern keeper and whisks him away in the dead of night. But this is nothing compared to the secret that the friar reveals: You, Lambert, are actually Prince Edward, the true King of England! With the aid of the deceitful Earl of Lincoln, Brother Simonds sets out to teach the boy how to become the rightful English king. Lambert has everything to gain and nothing to lose, or so he thinks. Yet in this dangerous battle for the throne, Lambert is not prepared for what's to come-or for what it really means to play at being a king.
In seven stories, one of our nation's most treasured writers, Avi, introduces seven boys-boys who have fathers at home and boys whose fathers have left, boys who spend most of their time with their grandfathers and boys who would rather spend time with anyone but the men in their lives.
By turns heartbreaking, hopeful, and funny, these stories reveal boys seeking acceptance, guidance, or just someone to look up to. That search may happen when dealing with a father's ghost, during a camping trip with a mysterious grandfather, while interviewing a potential dad, at a public reckoning, or in other situations that raise the question "What is the most important thing a father can do for his son?"
Newbery Medalist Avi carves an imaginative story full of suspense and surprises. For the animals of Central Park, life turns upside down when Big Daddy Duds and his gang of rats move uptown and take over the park. The mayor of Central Park, a squirrel named Oscar Westerwit, is determined to give the park back to its rightful owners-the squirrels, rabbits, and moles. Mark Nilson's lively narration brings to life the critters of Central Park in 1900. Other Avi books include Crispin (RB# 97084) and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
This dark, spooky tale of suspense is a superb way to introduce young adults to one of early America's greatest writers. Masterfully imitating the macabre tone of Poe's fiction, Avi spins a tale of a young boy who asks Edgar Allan Poe to help him escape a plot of murder, calculation, and deception.
The 300 dogs of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, all know their places. At the top is McKinley, a malamute who's head dog of the whole town. All of the dogs-and McKinley's human family-rely on him to protect them and maintain order.
Avi, the Newbery Medal author of Crispin: The Cross of Lead , peeks into the secret lives of dogs in this thrilling adventure tale. Robert Ramirez's narration gives voice to a dog willing to risk any peril to do the good thing.
Jonathan's older brother is away fighting with General Washington in Pennsylvania. But at 13, Jonathan is too young to fight. Still too young. Then one morning, April 3, 1778, the tavern bell sounds, calling men to arms. Eager to prove his mettle, with blood pounding in his ears, Jonathan joins the gathering men at the tavern to hear the news. With a 12 pound, six-foot-long flintlock musket loaned to him by the tavern keeper, Jonathan finds a place in with the other men, marching to battle.
Then the moment arrives-the distant sound of drums and the terrible whine of the fife. As the troops march into view, Jonathan sees 30 soldiers-all moving in perfect formation, a bayonet at every waist. "Hessians," the man next to Jonathan said. "Hessians." Avi is author of the Newbery-winner The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. In The Fighting Ground he recounts one unforgettable day in the life of young Jonathan, a naive New Jersey farmboy eager for war.
