Avi
Author of Crispin: The Cross of Lead
Featured Middle School Author

Renowned author, Avi, introduces you to his newest book, the 2003 Newbery Medal Winner. This latest gripping adventure takes you to 14th Century Europe and the life of Crispin, a 13-year-old peasant framed for murder and wanted dead or alive. While Crispin and Bear, a giant-of-a-man who becomes almost a father to Crispin, travel and search for Crispin's true identity and the meaning of the words written on the cross Crispin wears around his neck, changes occur in Crispin and he begins to reclaim his true self. As Avi says, "there is an excitement in being yourself." Avi also shares how he overcame many odds to choose writing as his vocation in a segment at the end of the tape called "Discussions on Writing."