Wordcraft blog by Avi

Most Read Stories Behind the Stories:
No. 7, Poppy

By on 0

This summer, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. 

This book is #7 on the most-read list, my 30th book.

PoppyPoppy

For about eight months I lived in Corvallis, Oregon because my wife had a semester’s visiting professorship at Oregon State University.

The university had a bookstore and one day I was browsing among the remaindered books. One book caught my attention. It was written by a naturalist who worked in a forest. One day he discovered a barely alive owlet on the forest floor. He rescued it, restored it to good health, and taught it to become wild again. The book was full of information about owls. I found it fascinating.

(Oh, how I wish I could find the title and author of that book! I had given it away and I have never been able to track it down.)

In any case, I decided it would be fun to write a book about owls. If you know Poppy you will notice that it begins with Mr. Ocax, the owl. That’s because he was to be the primary subject of the book. But-very typical of the way I write—I got much more interested in the mouse he was going to eat-a creature I named Pip. Indeed, the book came to be called Pip.

Pip?

Fast forward. I had finished an almost final draft of the book. Back in Providence, Rhode Island, I invited myself to read the book to a 5th grade class at the Moses Brown School. I had done a couple of sessions when a boy approached me with a book in hand. “Avi,” he said, “is this where you got the idea for your book?” He handed me a small, Canadian book that was titled: Pip: The Story of a Mouse.

Understandably, I felt a need to change the name of my character, and the book’s title. Hence, Poppy. So, it was.

I am often asked about the character Ereth, how did he come about? The best I can answer is that he was built in opposition to the character of Poppy. She is gentle and kind. He is rough and grumpy. And so forth. As for the way he talks? It just came to me. Dear friends, take it from me: writers don’t always know what they are doing. Sometime we just get lucky.

But—the book was originally published by Orchard Books. At the time, two things were happening at that publishing house. It was in fact foundering—a story too complicated to explain here—and at the same time it had changed its computer-driven sales program and its warehouse. Though the book had gotten good reviews I was getting calls from book stores and libraries telling me that the book was impossible to get. It was being listed as “out of print.” It was, in short, rapidly disappearing.

In the proverbial nick of time, the book won the Horn Book Award for fiction. People sometimes ask what is the impact of awards. I have absolutely no doubt that the award saved Poppy. Saving it meant all the other Poppy books would be written. But that-as we say—is another story.

Stay tuned. 

__________________________________

questionMost often asked question:

“Will you ever write another Poppy book?”

I never thought I would, but, in fact, I have. In the full arc of the narrative, there is a gap: How did Ragweed and Poppy meet? I have now written that story, and it is currently being revised. Titled Ragweed and Poppy, it is scheduled to be published in 2020—twenty-five years after the first Poppy book. Brian Floca, happily, will do the art.

_______________

Most Read Stories Behind the Stories:
No. 8, The Secret School

By on 1

This summer, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. 

This book is #8 on the most-read list, my 41st book.

The Secret School

The Secret School

The way The Secret School begins, with fourteen-year-old Ida driving a Model T Ford, but being so short her brother needed to be on the floor working the clutch and brakes, is a true tale, told to me by a bookstore owner who had gone to a one-room school house in Iowa. Though very young she had a special driver’s license which allowed her to drive-but only back and forth to her one-room school house.

I think it was hearing that story that led me to write The Secret School.

“Consolidated School District,” is a term common across the landscape of American schools. What is not always realized is that in many cases the consolidation was of one-room school houses into large school systems. It happened following World War Two, when there were massive population shifts, and car transportation became truly mass transportation. But prior to this time there were thousands of one-room school houses in rural areas. In my Colorado home area, I can identify at least seven buildings that were once one-room school houses. Though greatly reduced in number they still exist. When you learn about their architecture you can spot them everywhere.

Some years ago I also visited a small campus of The University of Montana which had the only program in the country for would-be teachers in one-room school houses. Aside from standard education courses, you were required to take classes in plumbing, accounting and other such practical skills.

One-room schools pop up everywhere in memoirs, and those who went through the systems are fiercely loyal to their schools and educators. Their strength lay in community, dedicated teachers and that students taught one another. Their weakness lay in their isolation, (physical, cultural, racial) and courses of study beyond the academic strength of individual teachers, more often than not, science. This kind of problem was remedied, in one case, by the State of Wisconsin, which broadcast (radio) classes for the scattered students.

In any case, I was fascinated by these schools and was able to interview folks who had been students in such schools. I also was able to visit some still-existing schools. There is any number of books about these schools, too.

The Secret School was originally written and serialized in newspapers for Breakfast Serials.

It can be still read in its original format (with illustrations by Brian Floca) via the internet at Instant Serials. A slightly expanded version was published and is still in print.

One of the pleasures of publishing the story came from readers who shared memories of their (or their grandparents’) one-room school experiences, including the ninety-year-old newspaper reader who corrected my placement of those Model T clutch pedals.

__________________________________

questionMost often asked question:

“Would you consider writing a sequel which would tell about Ida’s high school experience?”

I have considered it, did some research and once even spoke to a publisher about such a project. The honest answer is I just never got around to it. Perhaps I will.

_______________

Most Read Stories Behind the Stories:
No. 9, Crispin: the Cross of Lead

By on 0

This summer, I’m re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. 

This book is #9 on the most-read list, my 43rd book.

Crispin: the Cross of Lead

Crispin: The Cross of LeadThe story of Crispin: the Cross of Lead is complex.

  1. My wife and I were driving from Denver to the mountains, listening to a lecture by Dr. Teofilo Ruiz, chair of the History Department at UCLA. It was all about the medieval period. I was fascinated, and told myself that surely there was a story here, and I must do some reading.
  2. I did read a lot more—found wonderful stuff—and began to shape a story in my head.
  3. I also had a dream—I think it was a dream—and it was about an extended medieval story which I would write in four parts. The dream told me the beginning, the middle and the end. An orphan boy was in it along with a large man who befriends him.
  4. I wrote a first draft, but decided I had to go to England to do more research. When in London I went to the British Museum, the medieval section. There I saw a case of lead crosses, given to people during the period of the Black Death. Only then did I incorporate the key lead cross into the story.
  5. The story takes place when the English spoke Middle English. How to suggest a different, but readable English? The first draft was written in verse, in a form of unrhymed poetry used in 14th Century England. [Chaucer, Langland]  The resulting number of pages was much too long, so I collapsed the lines, but all the same, much of the book remained in iambic pentameter. I just never mentioned that to anyone.
  6. Meanwhile editor A at Publisher B asked me if I would publish with her. I said, yes. A contract was signed but no book was stipulated.
  7. Crispin, at the time titled No Name, was submitted to editor C at Publisher D.
  8. Editor C decided the book, in the draft I had submitted, was not what was wanted.
  9. Meanwhile, A had resigned from publisher B.
  10. No Name was offered to publisher B
  11. Since the editor at Publisher B, the one who had offered the contract, was no longer there, No Name was assigned to Editor E.
  12. The revisions were long and arduous, none more so than the opening pages.
  13. The book was published with the title Crispin: The Cross of Lead. It was dedicated to Dr. Ruiz, that fellow whose lecture gave me the idea for the book. It got fine reviews, but I am not one to have expectations about awards. In any case, I was working on another book.
  14. ALA Midwinter is when the Newbery Award committee gathers and announces the award on Monday morning. The conference is not one which many authors attend.  For the only time in my writing life (before or since) I was invited to attend to support another book of mine, the picture book called Silent Movie.
  15. At the Conference I had the worst case of flu I have ever had. I was sick to the degree that I was shivering. Whenever I could, I fled to my hotel room, got under a blanket and was sick. The worst time was sitting at Sunday breakfast with a few members of the Newbery committee, although at the time I didn’t know who they were.  I was in no mood to chat. I excused myself and flew home, changing my flight so I could leave Philadelphia as quickly as possible.
  16. Back home Monday morning at 5 AM (still ill) I was on my computer rushing to rewrite my daughter’s letter of application for a summer job, when the phone rang. It was the chair of the Newbery Committee, Starr Latronica. “Congratulations,” she said, “you have won the Newbery Award.”
  17. In truth, my first thought was, “The next book better be good.”
  18. I hung up the phone, and burst into tears.
  19. “What’s happened?” asked my wife.
  20. I said, “I won the Newbery award.”
  21. All my flu symptoms vanished.

What did I learn from all this? If you get a bad case of the flu, winning the Newbery award will apparently cure you.

__________________________________

questionMost often asked question:

The Crispin series consists of three books. Was there not supposed to be a fourth, set in Iceland?

There was a fourth volume, and it was to be set in Iceland. I even began to write it. Went to Iceland. (Fascinating place!) But the series had an odd publishing history. The first and second books were published by Hyperion. Then the original editor left and went to HarperCollins. It was there that book three was published. But for whatever reasons—I was not told—they chose not to do the fourth book. I have always wished to do so, but I don’t know who would publish it, and therefore have never completed it.

_______________

Remembering Betty Miles

By on 6

Betty Miles, author and educator

Betty Miles,
author and educator

I was deeply saddened by the death of Betty Miles, educator, editor, writer (more than thirty books), and my close friend for more than fifty years. Born of missionary US parents in pre-World War II Iraq, she never ceased being a missionary on behalf of children, and reading. As editor of The Bank Street Readers, she was the first to bring diversity to texts. Hey! I’m Reading was the first book about reading, written for new readers and their families. Among her many successful novels—The Real Me, Maudie and Me and The Dirty Book, The Trouble with Thirteen, Just the Beginning—she wrote about girls and their struggles to be themselves, with humor, clear-eyed reality, and engaging plots. Many are still in print.

I first became acquainted with her in the offices of Pantheon and Knopf Books, where we were both being published. Shortly afterward, we met again during an anti-war march in Washington DC. My friendship with her (and her husband Matt, who was himself important in the world of education reform) continued from then on.

As I knew her, she was an energetic, warm-hearted, and welcoming person, who began each day with a close reading of the New York Times so she might be informed about everything. She was a gardener and a serious amateur musician. Laughter and compassion were equal parts of her persona. Her great appetite was for people, with deep loyalty and engagement with many friends. We talked often on the phone—she lived in Vermont, I in Colorado—at which times we gossiped about the world at large, family, and life in general.

She often read my books in early drafts, provided generous critiques along with—teacher that she was—grammatical corrections. All useful, always welcome.

My oldest friend, I—and the world—shall miss her greatly.

Most Read Stories Behind the Stories:
No. 10, Wolf Rider

By on 2

Wolf RiderOver the next ten weeks of summer, I’ll be re-posting the 10 Most-Read Stories Behind the Stories from this blog. I’ve rewritten each essay somewhat and included the most-often-asked question about the book. 

This book is #10 on the most-read list, my 18th book.

Wolf Rider

Sometimes things happen to a writer which allows him/her to write a tale using the incident as the basis for a story. The origin of Wolf Rider was just such a true event, and it was quite horrific.

I had just moved into a new apartment and installed a new phone (this was before cell phones.) As I recall, I had yet to receive one phone call.

Then the phone rang.

I picked it up. “Hello?”

“I just killed my girlfriend. Can I talk to you about it?”

If you read the opening pages of Wolf Rider, I closely replicate that call, what was said during that call, and what happened right after it.

But—the man had named and described his “girlfriend.”

I immediately called the police and told them what happened.

“Don’t worry,” I was told. “It’s a full moon, Friday night and welfare checks just out. Forget it.”

Those lines are in the book. I didn’t make them up.

The next day I went to my office in the library where I was working and checked a phone book. There was the exact name of the person who had been—so I had been told—murdered.

I called. She answered. She was a probation officer, and the description of her the “voice” had given me was, she said, quite accurate.

Needless to say, she was quite concerned. I gave her all the information I had (scant) my name, phone, etc. “Do call me,” I said, “and tell what this is all about.”

I hung up.

Needless to say, it was all deeply troubling. Who was the caller? How did he know about the probation officer? Why had he called me? Was it a coincidence? What happened after I gave the police such information as I learned?

A couple of weeks went by. The police never called me back.

I spoke to a reporter friend of mine, a guy who specialized in crime reporting. “I’m going to call that woman again,” I told him, “and get some answers.”

“Don’t,” he advised strongly. “The police will think you made up the whole thing as a way to meet the woman.”

I took his advice. I left it all alone.

Still, it troubled me greatly.

Six months later, one of my sons said to me, “Dad, I’m sick of you talking about that phone call. Go write a book about it.”

That’s exactly what I did. It’s called Wolf Rider. After the first few pages it’s all my invention, which I wrote to give myself some closure.

I used to have a standing bet. It went like this: “Pick up Wolf Rider and read the first few pages. I bet you can’t stop reading.”

I’ve never lost that bet.

__________________________________

questionMost often asked question: Did you ever find out anything about the caller, the probation officer, or what actually happened?

In a word, No.

Remembering Donald Hall

By on 1

Donald HallI was saddened to learn of the death of Donald Hall, former US Poet Laurate, and children’s book writer (The Ox-Cart Man). I knew his work but I never met him. Once, however, when attending a conference in Vermont, I was in the audience when he was speaking.

I don’t recall the full import of his talk, but in it he offered a definition of good writing that I have never forgotten. Nor do I know if what he said was something he often offered or if it was something spontaneous. I once tried to search some of his writing for his words, but never found it.

In any case, to the best of my recollection, what he said was:

“What the writer tries to do is—metaphorically speaking—write a circle. But he does not write a complete circle. There is a gap, like the letter C. If the gap is too wide, the reader cannot bridge it. If the gap is too small, there is no reason for the reader to fill it. But if the gap is just right, the reader fills it with his/her own experience and the circle is complete.”

As lovely (and challenging) a description of good writing as I’ve ever heard.

The Button War is reviewed

By on 0

The Button WarThe Button War received this critical review from 9-year-old Nathaniel Kraemer. Thanks, Nathaniel, for sharing this with my readers, and for giving the book a starred review. 

“In this bone-chilling Avi novel, readers learn a lesson that they will remember for the rest of their lives: War is not a game. Set in a remote village in Poland, a group of boys are alarmed when the German army drops a bomb on the schoolhouse and the Russian occupiers leave. Inspired by all of the soldiers and the magnificent buttons that currently reside in their village, Jurek, the maniacal leader of the group, decides to launch a dangerous dare: the group would have a contest. Whoever got the best button would become the king. Patryk, one of the boys in the group, would do anything to stop Jurek from becoming king. But Jurek is determined and will not let anyone stop him. The battle spirals and collides with the war. As the button war turns lethal, everything spins out of control. With captivating and vivid scenes, this bittersweet novel will be an incredible read for all ages.” 

Story Behind the Story #68: The Button War

By on 3

It must have been something like forty years ago.

I was visiting my father-in-law with my older boys. They were playing with something they were collecting, perhaps baseball cards, or some such.

Looking on, my father-in-law said, “When I was a kid, we boys collected things, too.”

The story he told was rather unusual. He was raised in a village somewhere in Eastern Europe, but with so many national boundary changes, he could not even say precisely which country. During World War One, he said, his village was invaded and taken over by now this army, now that, from different nations. When these armies took over his village, the soldiers commandeered the women to wash their uniforms. Once washed, the uniforms were hung out to dry. The boys in the village—so my father-in-law related—would sneak about, cut the buttons from the uniforms, collect them, and trade them amongst themselves. This in the midst of The Great War.

The Button WarI never forgot the story, and it is that tale upon which I based my newest book, The Button War.

The essence of the plot—I set it in (Russian occupied) Poland—at the unset of World War One—is how a group of boys engage in a contest as to who can steal the best military button from the different armies that attack and occupy their isolated village. What begins as a lark, and a fairly harmless (and innocent) series of dares, escalates into something very much more ominous, even as the violence in the village intensifies.

If you read about World War One, when “The lights went out all over Europe,” you are struck how, by common historical agreement, The Great War (as it was called) was a war that had no particular meaning, other than ego, nationalistic rivalry, as well as profound and lethal stupidity. During the war, something like sixteen million people were killed, many of them civilians, often in the most ghastly ways. The war destroyed ancient empires, caused multiple revolutions, and virtually ensured that World War Two would happen, with its own attendant horrors. A fair number of the consequences of The Great War are still being played out today, a hundred years later. One could argue that The Great War has never ended, To encapsulate all of this in a short novel would not have been possible, and indeed foolish to have even been attempted. My story is about boys, boys who, in their innocence and sense of fun, their dares, echo (without their knowing it) the cruel and destructive folly of their adult world.

As part of my research for the book I began to collect military buttons from World War One. You may see them on the cover of the book.

I found theses buttons fascinating. One could have invented a story about each one of them. Who wore it? Where? What happened to the person? What experiences did that person have? How did these buttons ever come to be posted on eBay™, where I discovered and bought them?

To my own surprise, I found myself wanting more and more of these buttons. I, too, wanted the best one. Which is what The Button War is all about.

I dare you to read it.

Remembering Richard Peck

By on 4

Richard PeckOver the years, I came to think of Richard Peck as a friend. We were not particularly close, but we’d meet at conferences, and speaking engagements. I got to know him very much better when he was part of the ensemble for Authors Readers Theatre, our reader’s theatre group that toured the country.

He was always the gentlemen, urbane, witty, hardworking, willing to share his distinct point of view, free with his opinions. Always impeccably dressed too, just this side of vanity, defused by his own self-depreciative wit.  We never talked politics much, but when we did I doubt there was much upon which we agreed. That said—during these days of rancor and hostility—it’s worth saying that those differences never mattered in our friendship or when working together. He was fun to be with, full of energy, and sly humor.

I won’t pretend that I knew him very well, but he was one of those people who, when gone, is sorely missed.

Jackets Required

By on 2

In the world of books—hardcover anyway—the dust jacket has been around since the 1820’s. Apparently, they were created (in England) to protect cloth bindings, which were, now and again, embossed, and sometimes even gilded. In those days the dust jacket was meant to protect the book from, well, dust. Moreover those jackets were sealed like a package, then removed when the book was put on display or, of course, read.

It took a hundred years or so for dust jackets to evolve into what we know today, artistically (we hope) designed to attract the eye of the viewer. Now it’s also just folded over the book, and easily removed. That said, if you collect rare editions, say The Grapes of Wrath, and the volume has its dust jacket (intact) it very much ups the price.

(If you wonder why Dust Jacket retains the name, how many of you keep driving gloves in the “glove compartment” of your car?) I am often asked how I go about designing the covers of my books, and people are surprised to learn that I actually have no control over that, at least no contractual control. Still, over the years, editors have been willing to share early cover ideas with me, and I can give a response. Generally speaking (but not always) my thoughts are included in the process.

In my early years some of the covers were quite awful. One such cover, Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? took a moment from the book to illustrate. But the image—a boy and girl—actually reversed the placement of the kids, putting the boy in a dominant position, while the text reads quite otherwise.

Who Stole the Wizard of Oz covers

In my publishing history I actually offered two designs for covers, which were used. One was Don’t You Know There’s a War On? Moreover, the image of the boy (looking at him from the back) is taken from a photograph of my son, Robert, which I supplied.

Don't You Know there's a War On? and The Button War

The other design was for my forthcoming The Button War. The buttons depicted, are in fact the military uniform buttons (World War 1) that I collected as part of my research for writing the book. I think it unusually striking.

That said, when books are published in other countries the covers often change. Here is The Button War, in its UK edition.

The Button War UK edition

I once had a collection of Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock (the first in the series). Over the years, while the text did not change, the cover did, mostly in terms of clothing fashion and Nancy’s haircut.

Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock

When Poppy and Ereth was first published, Brian Floca, who did the cover, complained to the publisher that they had changed the color of Ereth’s teeth. They should have been—as in nature they are—yellow. The cover depicted them as white. Subsequent editions got it right.

In my library I own a book titled, Jackets Required: an Illustrated history of American Book Jacket Design, 1920-1950. Many of the covers are quite stunning. Great covers are sadly rare.

Jackets Required

My guess is that books with poorly designed dust jackets more often than not, well, collect dust.

Page 1 of 54
1 2 3 … 54
Website copyright 2003 - Avi. All rights reserved. Site designed by Winding Oak.
Materials on this website may be copied for classroom or library use but may not be reprinted or resold for commercial purposes.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

%d bloggers like this: