Books with author Avi

Maura O'Connell, 15, and her brother, Patrick, 12, escape Ireland's brutal poverty with only the belongings in their bundles and tickets for ocean passage. Sir Laurence Kirkle, 11, flees a life of privilege to seek justice. When fate brings them ogether, the three join forces in a daring scheme that may lead to freedom and glory...or dire consequences.

Convicted of thievery and transported from England to America, Oliver Cromwell Pitts, shackled to his fellow prisoners, endures inedible food, filthy conditions, and deadly storms on his voyage across the Atlantic. But the hazardous shipboard journey is nothing compared to the peril that waits for him on the colonial shores. In Annapolis, Oliver’s indentured servitude is purchased by the foul, miserly Fitzhugh, who may have murdered another servant. On Fitzhugh’s isolated tobacco farm, Oliver’s only companion is an enslaved boy named Bara. Oliver and Bara become fast friends with one powerful goal: to escape Fitzhugh. Oliver hopes he can find his sister, Charity, brought somewhere in the colonies on a different ship. Bara dreams of reaching a community of free black people in the cypress swamp who may help him gain his liberty. But first the boys must flee Fitzhugh’s plantation and outrun their brutal pursuer and the dangers that lurk in the swamp.

World War II is on everyone's mind and in every headline, and Howie Crispers has a hunch that his school principal is a spy. With a little snooping around, Howie finds out something even more alarming. Principal Lomister may not be a spy, but he is plotting to get rid of Howie's favorite teacher. Howie's dad is fighting Nazis overseas, and his mom is working hard to support the war effort, so Miss Gossim is the only person Howie can depend on. With the help of his friends, and a plan worthy of radio show superhero Captain Midnight, Howie intends to save Miss Gossim!

A boy, a rat, and an exterminator -- three players in a game of survival. Christmas vacation is supposed to be a blast. Or so Eric thinks. But with all his friends either sick in bed or out of town, Eric's getting more bored by the hour. Then he meets Anje Gabrail, exterminator. Anje's got all the normal stuff an exterminator needs -- roach powders and smoke bombs -- but he also carries some extra equipment: a crossbow and metal-tipped arrows that can penetrate concrete walls and will annihilate any creature with which they come in contact. Anje's number one target? Rats. To Eric, this guy is creepy but fascinating. So, with nothing better to do, he joins Anje on a mission to destroy the rat living in the basement of his apartment building. But as Christmas Day draws nearer and the temperature outside keeps dropping, things in the basement go from weird to deadly. And Eric learns how valuable life truly is.

MP3 CD Format The first new book about Poppy in more than ten years, from Newbery Medal-winning author Avi with illustrations throughout by Caldecott Medal-winning artist Brian Floca.How did Ragweed and Poppy meet and become friends? This book tells their hilarious story! Adventurous golden mouse Ragweed is on a freight train leaving the city of Amperville. On his journey he meets Lotar, a young, annoying, and lost raccoon who's desperate to reunite with his mother. Though Ragweed doesn't really want to help the raccoon, by doing so he winds up in Dimwood Forest.Ragweed is now ready to strike off on his own, but it's not long before he hears a cry for help. Following the sound of the voice, he finds a cage with a deer mouse trapped inside. When he asks the mouse's name, she replies, ""Poppy.""The way Ragweed comes to Poppy's aid, and how Poppy comes to his, is how their rousing and fateful friendship begins. As for that annoying raccoon, he keeps getting in the way.Fans of animal stories and especially of the beloved previous books in the Poppy series will love Ragweed and Poppy!

Maura and Patrick have escaped the desperate poverty and danger of leaving home in Ireland to face even greater peril as they continue their daring voyage to the New World with their friend Laurence Kirkle. Aboard ship, they are crowded into the stench-filled pit of steerage, where they come face to face with illness and death, trying their best comfort and protect eight-year-old Bridy, who has lost both her parents. They find themselves at the mercy of fellow passengers--shady characters like Mr. Shagwell, an American in dire need of cash, and the conniving Mr. Clemspool, who sails first-class with young Mr. Grout, haunted by his criminal past. Ahead lies their future in America, fraught with danger and more crisis than they ever anticipated.

More than anything, Ida Bidson wants to become a teacher. To do that, she must finish eighth grade, then go on to high school. But her dream falters when the one-room school in her remote Colorado town shuts down. Her only hope is to keep the school open without anyone finding out. Yet even a "secret" school needs a teacher. Ida can't be it. . . . Or can she?In the spirit of "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle," Newbery Medal winner Avi creates an inspiring story of a headstrong girl determined to control her own destiny.